Recipe: Crust for Thanksgiving Celebration Pie of Autumn Vegetables

Makes 1 crust 1 ½ cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose unbleached flour

Generous 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 stick, plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into big chunks

4 to 6 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

For assembling the pie:

1/2 cup vegetable broth or water

About 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 egg yolks, beaten in a small bowl (optional)

1. To make the crust in a food processor: combine the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Cut in butter with rapid pulse in processor. Add 4 tablespoons of water. Pulse just until dough gathers into clumps. If dry, pulse in 1 to 2 more tablespoons water. The dough should be in ragged clumps but come together easily when you pinch some together. If it still seems dry, add another tablespoon ice water with just a few pulses.

To make the crust without a food processor: combine flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and blend in the butter by rubbing the flour butter mixture between your fingertips until butter pieces are the size of peas. Add 4 tablespoons of water and toss mixture with a fork. If it seems too dry add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. The dough should be in ragged clumps but come together easily when you pinch some together.

2. Gently gather the dough into a ball, wrap and chill 30 minutes or up to 48 hours.

3. Select a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the vegetables in a mound. Measure the dish, then roll out the dough so it is no more than 1/8-inch thick and at least 5 inches larger than the dish. Put it on a foil-covered pizza pan or cookie sheet and refrigerate 30 minutes or cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

4. About 50 minutes before serving the pie, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil the inside and the rim of the baking dish with olive oil. Warm the already cooked vegetables in a pan in the oven.

5. To assemble the pie: pour the broth or water into the oiled baking dish, then pile in the vegetables.

6. Take the plastic wrap off the dough. Turn the chilled dough over onto the baking dish filled with vegetables, gently peeling back its foil. Fold up and crimp the overhang of pastry to make a raised border atop the rim of the baking dish (extra pastry could be cut into decorative pieces and applied to the crust with oil, or beaten egg). Brush crust with olive oil or beaten egg, cut a few vent holes, and bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Serve the pie hot or warm, scooping out helpings with a big spoon.

From Lynne Rossetto Kasper