Friday, January 9, 2015

crabapple pie






Four months ago we swapped eucalyptus trees, kangaroos and possums for a quintessential small Australian house with a big back yard in a little suburban town. Surrounded by diverse trees lying in their winter dormancy we were crossing our fingers once Spring arrived there would be signs of fruit trees.

Our backyard is a jungle of overgrown trees, shrubs and ridiculous amount of rocks with various areas strangled in a noxious ivy weed that snakes love to bask in. First priority after we moved in was the ardious task of clearing the yard and making it safe for the children to play in. Still continuing! Rob's hard work has paid off with the discovery of an Apricot tree in the far back corner of our property. Apricot conserve recipe coming soon!

The children and I have spied many promising apricot trees and wild cherry plum trees and red and green apple trees (exact identifications to come later) on our walks to our local bakery. However, across the road from our house is an unusual apple tree now heavily laden with fruit. I asked an older lady walking her dog if she knew what the tree was. I suspected that original residents of the area could definitely identify the local trees. "Crabapple tree," she responded. Predictably one minute later I was madly researching Crabapple recipes on Google.

From what I gathered Crabapple tree is an ornamental tree that is often neglected for their fruit. It is too small, tart and sour however a great baking and cooking fruit. In the case with pie it is best made with vanilla bean rather than cinnamon which is traditionally used when baking with green apples.

The boys picked a basket of Crabapples for me and I made them a scrumptious sweet Crabapple pie in return.

The flours and sugar used in this recipe is interchangeable so use what you prefer or have available in your pantry for this frugal pie recipe.

CRABAPPLE PIE RECIPE

Ingredients
2 cups organic plain flour
2 tablespoon caster sugar
100 g cold unsalted butter, cut in to cubes
1 egg, beaten
40 ml ice-cold water

Pie filling
30 Crabapples or enough to fill your pie dish. Leave skins on,scrubbed and washed
1 cup of golden unrefined natural caster sugar or any granulated sugar of your choice
1 tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of organic vanilla bean paste or essence
Half a lemon, juiced

Method
In a food processor, process flour, sugar and butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 40 ml ice-cold water and process until mixture forms a ball.

Divide dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

To make the filling, simply cut crabapples in to quarters then cut out core and seeds. I cut half of the quartered apples in to pieces because I wanted some really soft apple pieces and some chunky. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl except for the egg.

Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out larger disc between two sheets of baking paper big enough to line the bottom of your pie dish. Line pie dish with pastry. Roll out remaining pastry disc to fit on top of your pie and put in the fridge until ready to use.

Place filling in pastry case and line with top pastry and seal edges. Brush with egg wash. Make 3 small incisions in pastry top to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until golden and juices bubble through the incision on crust.

We ate pie not long after it came out of the oven (it was 10 pm!) but wait until it cools down if you can. The next day we had a second serving with good quality vanilla ice-cream.

Why we forage:

Foraging is another way we can reduce our food miles and increase eating more locally and seasonally.

It seems absurd and wasteful to pass by a sustainable and abundant food resource and head to the supermarket to buy what is already available and free within arms reach.

By involving our children in the forage-to-table process our children learn where their food comes from and have fun too. They also experience a taste of a "real" childhood just like their grandparents did foraging in woodlands and forests in Europe.

Do you forage? Have you discovered edible food on your local footpaths and parks? Or in your backyard? Apparently it is a bumper crop year and some people have discovered fruit trees in their own backyard they weren't even aware of.




17 comments:

  1. That just looks delicious, Zena! We get fruit fly in a lot of our fruit like apples, apricots etc. unfortunately. I hope you and your family have a great 2015 in your new home.

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    1. Thank you for the well wishes. Oh fruit fly would be dreadful. I guess they can't survive in our cold climate luckily.

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  2. This pie looks delicious. I haven't tried cooking with crabapples before.
    Just found your lovely blog through Jane's- The Shady Baker.
    Have a wonderful weekend. x

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    1. If you ever come across them do try Zara; it will be worth it:)

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  3. Looks delicious! When we bought our block there was an apple tree on the nature strip, but sadly someone came along and chopped it down. Not sure why but we were so disappointed!

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    1. What a shame! I'm sure you'll be planting/ed a nice orchard on your property.

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  4. So good Zena. I hope your foraging continues well into the different seasons. Such a great way to explore your own areas. xx

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    1. I hope there is good things to discover in the different seasons too.

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  5. Looks so good! And how awesome the fruit was free!

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    1. Thanks Carmen! I know, can't get much better than fresh free local food.

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  6. I love this Zena. It is so exciting discovering what secrets your garden and neighbourhood hold through the seasons of that first year. Your pie looks delicious! x

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    1. Thank you! It really was delicious. There's wild plums and pears to be foraged too. Unfortunately my oven broke two weeks ago so our pie making came to a halt until the new part arrives.

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  7. I will have to try this recipe as we have a laden crabapple tree at the moment. I've only ever made jelly with them before. Thanks for the recipe.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. You can't go wrong with pie. I'm investing in jars for next year so Jelly is something I would like to make. Jelly making seems to be popular in the USA but I only grew up with jams and conserves.

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  8. Oh I LOVE crab apple - I still remember when I first tried it as a jelly :-) Would love to know where you are now, if you are nearby would be lovely to meet in real life :-)

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    1. Oh yes I would love to catch up in real life! I live in the Snowy Mountains but grew up in Sydney. You're located in Sydney or Melbourne? I don't think I've tried Jelly. Grew up with homemade jams and conserves though. I see it in a lot of American blogs but it is something I want to make next year.

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