Thankfully Autumn has arrived to Rome and I have welcomed the crisp morning temperatures with open arms. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but we had such a long summer this year with constant high temperatures and not a cool change in sight. I’m using the excuse of cool evenings to start pulling out all the comfort recipes I love, although for a classic American Apple Pie, you don’t really need an excuse.. anytime is perfect! I love this served warm with vanilla ice cream.
CLASSIC APPLE PIE
Double crust pastry. Double this recipe if you want pastry on the top and bottom.
- 2 1/4 Cups plain flour
- 1.5 tsps sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 115g cold butter, cut into small cubes.
- 1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening (I used CRISCO)
- 5 – 6 tblsp ice water
** In a food processor (I used my kitchenAid), combine flour, sugar & salt. mix well. Add butter & shortening. Mix well until combined. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, adding enough water until dough begins to clump together. Divide into two balls, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. (I refrigerated overnight).
Filling:
- 5 – 6 granny smith apples, peeled and cored.
- 2 tablespoons (tblsp) lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar (I used muscovado)
- 3 tblsp flour
- 1 teaspoon (tsp) cinnamon + 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg. (I used mixed spice)
- 2 tblsp butter, cut into small pieces.
*Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface, drape over rolling pin and ease into a 18cm-20cm ovenproof pie dish. (I used a deep quiche dish). Refrigerate.
- Cut apples into thick slices, place in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, and spices and stir until combined. Add to apples, tossing well until evenly coated with all of the sugar mixture.
- Roll out remaining pastry. Add apples to pie shell and dot with butter. Place pastry over filling and press down to form a rim around the border. Cut 3 slits in centre of top pastry.
*Bake pie in lower third of oven for 15minutes. REDUCE oven temperature to 180°C. Bake for 40-45minutes, or until filling bubbles and crust is browned.
**I also dotted the apples with a little jam before covering with pastry…. just a small amount. I used italian jam made with visciole. (a type of cherry).
***Needless to say this is delicious eaten warm with a generous serving of vanilla ice-cream!
