Plum Pie

In the weeks leading up to my trip to Hong Kong, I did a lot of baking but didn't leave much time for blogging.  As a result, I'm writing up a few of those blogs now while the rain pours down in Kowloon.  (By the way, I was hoping to make some Cantonese food in my Kowloon kitchen during my month-long stay here, but the kitchen is even smaller and more ill-equipped than I had imagined, so any new dishes are going to have to wait until I'm back in the U.S.).

Most people don't think of plums as a likely pie filling, but like any stone fruit, they're delicious when baked into a flaky crust.  It's best to use plums that are just getting ripe--not too soft.  And one of the great things about a stone fruit pie is that it's really simple.  You'll be able to get this dessert in the oven with about 15 minutes of prep time.

What song?  For such a delicious stone fruit pie, here's Van Morrison's "And It Stoned Me" (and the lyrics to this song fit the weather in Hong Kong, too).

Ingredients:
--2 pie crusts, rolled and ready to go (recipe here)
--6 plums, cored and sliced thinly (leave the skins on)
--1/4 c. cornstarch
--1/4 c. granulated sugar
--juice and zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine plum slices, cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  Pour into a prepared pie shell.  Add the top pie crust and pinch crust however you'd like.  I did a lattice weave and then sprinkled some turbinado sugar on top before baking.

Cover the crust with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake for another 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.