I have always been a greedy reader. My childhood revolved around weekly visits to the library, maxing out the checkout limit, finishing the stack before the week was up, and then rereading my own stash of favorite books over and over until they fell apart. I was lucky enough to have shelves stuffed with volumes by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madeleine L’Engle, and Lois Lowry. Novels like Black Beauty and Harriet the Spy were practically memorized, but among all these beloved books, none were more venerated and repeated than the works of Roald Dahl. Matilda and Danny, the Champion of the World were unequivocally my favorites, but James and the Giant Peach was one story I could not get out of my head. I was never sure if it delighted me or just haunted me, but I still can’t see a peach without recalling all of James’s tenuous moments in the fruit both on land and at sea.
If I had to revisit a third-grade book report assignment—the kind where you write a few pages of reflection and produce a representative 3-D illustration—this pie, with its unconventional peach filling and blue/green schematic, would be my submission.
2 disks Butterfly Pea Flower Pie Dough
1 disk Spinach Pie Dough
PEACH MINT FILLING
3 pounds (1.4 kilograms) ripe peaches, pitted and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 7 cups)
⅓ cup (38 grams) tapioca starch
10 to 15 (0.1 ounce/3 grams) fresh mint leaves
1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon
STRIPE WEAVE DESIGN NEEDS
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Ruler
Rolling pastry wheel
Paring knife
1. On a floured surface, roll 1 butterfly pea flower dough disk into a 13-inch square. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a ruler as a straight edge and a rolling pastry wheel, cut the square into ¾-inch strips. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and place the dough in the refrigerator to keep cold while proceeding with the design process.
2. Roll the disk of spinach dough into a 13-inch square. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a ruler as a straight edge and a rolling pastry wheel, cut the square into ¼-inch strips. Gently slide the parchment on top of the butterfly pea flower strips and return to the refrigerator to chill for at least 5 minutes before proceeding.
3. Remove the chilled strips from the refrigerator and lay the sheet of spinach strips so that the strips are horizontal. Starting from the bottom, fold half the spinach strips in half to the right. Lay a perpendicular butterfly pea flower strip down the middle, then unfold the topmost folded spinach strip over it.
4. Lay another blue strip to the left of the first butterfly pea flower strip and unfold the next spinach strip.
5. Continue in this fashion until you have placed 5 total blue strips. Unfold the remaining folded spinach strips. (If your dough becomes warm and melty at any point, you can slide a baking sheet under the parchment and pop the whole operation into the refrigerator for 5 minutes to chill.)
6. Fold the top half portion of spinach strips to the left. Lay a perpendicular butterfly pea flower strip and unfold the bottommost folded spinach strip.
7. Lay another blue strip to the right of the first butterfly pea flower strip and unfold the next spinach strip.
8. Continue in this fashion until you have placed 5 total blue strips.
9. Unfold the remaining folded spinach strips. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and freeze the pie top for at least 30 minutes or until it can be easily lifted as one piece. Once the pie top has frozen solid, it can be wrapped well and used to top a pie at a later time. A well-sealed pie top will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Handle frozen pie tops gently, as they can shatter.
10. Roll the second disk of butterfly pea flower dough into a 14-inch circle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it over a 9-inch pie pan. Taking the edges of the dough, gently ease the dough into the pan, nestling it into the inner elbows of the pie pan. Trim the excess dough with kitchen shears to create a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang back under, creating an elevated edge.
11. To prepare the peach filling, put the peaches and tapioca starch in a large bowl. Set aside.
12. Put the mint leaves, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse to blend. Pour the mint sugar into the mixing bowl with the peaches. Gently fold with a spatula to coat the fruit.
13. Scoop the filling into the prepared pie shell, doming the fruit slightly in the center. Use a pastry brush to lightly dab water around the edge of the pie.
14. Remove the frozen pie top from the freezer and lay on the surface of the filled pie. Allow to sit for a few minutes to thaw slightly and settle. Press to seal the edges and run a paring knife around the edge to trim the excess dough.
15. Chill the entire pie in the freezer until the oven has come to temperature. The pie can be frozen solid before baking or simply chilled through, about 20 minutes.
16. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
17. When the oven has come to temperature, place the chilled pie on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees and lower the oven temperature to 350°F. If the edges are already brown, cover with a shield. Continue baking until the filling is bubbling rapidly and the top crust looks baked through in the center, checking every 30 minutes to rotate the pie and cover lightly with foil as necessary, 80 to 100 total minutes. (If baking from frozen, add 30 to 45 minutes to the bake time.)
18. Cool the pie completely on a rack before slicing and serving.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTIONS
Dough alternatives: Basic, Beet, Black Sesame, Blueberry, Cornflower, Dragon Fruit
NOTE
The trimmed dough scraps can be baked as beautiful woven pie cookies, or gently pressed into a disk, wrapped, chilled, and re-rolled once more into marbled dough for a pie like Caught Off Shard.