Fresh Red Currant Pie

Yesterday, when we were at our church in Arborfield (120 km / 80 mi from Hudson Bay), a nice lady named Eleanor Alyea gave us a big bucket of red currants. We'd never tried using fresh currants before, so we came home and combed both cookbooks and the 'Net. Here's one of the dishes we came up with:

Fresh Red Currant Pie
The currants lend this pie a stunning red colour, which contrasts beautifully with the pale crumb topping. A very patriotic, red & white Canadian pie!

Filling Ingredients:

• one prepared but uncooked, 9-inch / 1 L pastry crust, bottom only (either homemade or storebought)
• 1 cup / 125 ml sugar
• 3 Tbsp / 45 ml tapioca (the no-cook kind)
• 3 cups / 750 ml fresh red currants
• 1/3 cup / 75 ml water 

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 250 ml flour
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml sugar
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml chopped nuts (optional)
• 3 Tbsp / 45 ml butter
• 1 Tbsp / 15 ml oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F / 220 C.
2. For the Filling: In the bottom of the crust, sprinkle a small amount of sugar from filling ingredients. Mix remaining filling sugar and tapioca together, then add the currants and water; pour into crust.
3. For the Crumb Topping: Mix together flour, sugar and nuts (optional). Cut in butter and oil until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Cover pie with topping mixture.
4. Bake at 425 F / 220 C for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F / 180 C and continue baking 25-30 more minutes.
5. Serve pie when warm, with a dollop of ice cream if desired.