Currant Raspberry Pie #31

Although I've been making pies every week, my updating has been pretty sub-pare because of traveling, work, and some other projects. Maybe you've noticed...
But it's finally time to get current!
(Sorry. Dumb pun.)

I made this pie back in July and up until that point, I had never eaten a red currant before. However, I kept seeing currants at the farmers market and I fell in love with their deep color. I just think they look delicate and delicious--like little red pearls. And while they are unfortunately too perishable for jewelry, they do make a delicious pie, especially when coupled with raspberries.

The filling was sour, and the currant seeds were chewy, which were a welcomed texture. I was worried about how seedy this filling might become and that it might just taste like jam, but instead, the currants were like little explosions of juice and a welcomed treat with every bite.

Currants are available in July (at least here in New York) so if you are planning on making this pie this year, I'm giving this to you a little too late (sorry). But if you are holding on to this recipe for next July, here's a little tip I learned about getting the currants off of the stems without squishing them:

When they are slightly frozen, they are much easier to remove from their stems. Freeze them for about 1/2 hour and once they are solid, gently tug them from the stem (in fact, you can kind of just run your fingers down the stem and pop them off into a bowl rather than pick each one).

Raspberry Currant Pie
1 double pie crust

FILLING:
3 1/2 cups red raspberries
2 1/2 cups red currants, stemmed
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on the top crust
5 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca flakes
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

DIRECTIONS:
Roll out the pastry and line a 9-inch pie tin with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Cut tiny currant-sized circles (vent holes) in the rolled-out top crust with a cake decorating cone tip. Re-chill the pastry if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Sort through the berries and currants to remove any stems and duds. Put them in a bowl and add the sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice. Mix the fruit very gently, scrape it into the bottom crust, and dot the filling with the butter. Lay the top crust over the pie. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Sprinkle the crust lightly with sugar

Bake the pie on a lipped baking sheet for 10 minutes or until the crust looks dry, blistered, and blond. Turn the oven down to 375 F, and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through the slits in the top crust.

Cool the pie completely before cutting, at least a few hours. Serve it at room temperature. Store the pie uncovered at room temperature up to 3 days.