Recipe: The Pie Hole’s Lemon-Pear pie

Rebecca Grasley, co-founder of Los Angeles-based The Pie Hole, usually makes this pie around Thanksgiving, when pears are in season in her Pennsylvania hometown. Now she’s sharing the how tos in her new cookbook, “Pie is Messy” (Ten Speed Press, $28).

“The combination of the pears and the lemon filling is a little unusual, but it’s always a hit,” she writes in the new book, which features recipes for 100 different kinds of pie, crusts and toppings.

Lemon-Pear Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe of Moe’s pie crust

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon salted butter

6 to 8 pears, peeled, cored and cut into small dice (about 6 cups)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Roll the pastry dough into two rounds for the bottom and top crusts. Lay the bottom crust in a 9-inch pie pan and trim the edges.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg, sugar and lemon zest and juice. Add the butter and cook slowly over low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter has melted and the mixture thickens and bubbles, 3 to 5 minutes. Cook for 2 minutes more and remove from the heat. Set aside.

In the bottom crust, arrange the pears in an even layer. Pour the thickened lemon filling over the fruit. Make slits in the top crust and lay it over the filling. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together to seal and flute decoratively.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown.

Serve warm from the oven or chilled — cool on a rack for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours longer. Both ways are great!

— Rebecca Grasley with Willy Blackmore, “Pie is Messy” (Ten Speed Press, $28)