Pie Time

I have always been obsessed with food, probably 90% of my life revolves around food. Not only am I eating at copious amounts of restaurants and constantly trying new dishes, but I also enjoy cooking to create art rather than quickly throwing something together for sustenance (aka meal prep). So, to try and get my feet wet in the food industry, I enrolled in a baking arts class at George Brown. Feeling a little like Julia Childs at Le Cordon Bleu (I know it doesn’t compare!), I thought I should share my journey through this blog. Now, I can’t promise a weekly blog, but I can promise some delicious recipes with the Zahra touch.
First up, apple pie!
Pie Dough:
-375g pastry flour
-125g shortening
-125g butter
-125ml cold water
-15g brown sugar
-7g salt
1. Lightly rub the shortening and butter into the flour until they are in pea-sized crumbs (don’t be too aggressive)
2. Dissolve salt and sugar in cold water, add into the flour/shortening/butter mixture
3. Mix lightly (very important if you want a flaky pie crust)
4. Transfer the dough on a table and shape it into a roll (no need to blend everything thoroughly together, just make sure it’s a roll)
Stage 2:
-6 Northern Spy apples
-½ tsp lemon zest
-250g sugar
-½tsp cinnamon
-½ tsp cardamom
-½ tsp nutmeg
-25g cornstarch
-30g butter
-egg wash
1. Preheat oven to 400°C
2. Peel and cut apples into the size you desire – I prefer small diced up pieces or thin slivers
3. Coat all the apples in sugar and let this sit for 30 mins (this is done to remove all moisture from the apples)
4. Drain the apples and remove any leftover liquids
5. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, lemon zest and cornstarch to the apples
6. Melt butter and add to the apples
7. Cut your dough in half and roll it out into the size of the pie plate bottom, line the dough in the pie plate and put egg wash along the rim
8. Pour all the apples into the pie plate on the pie dough shell
9. Roll out the second half of your dough into the size of the pie plate and then place over your pie
10. Press down the edges of the shell into the egg wash so that none of the filling escapes when baking
11. Brush egg wash all over the shell
12. Make cuts along the top of the shell in order for steam to escape
13. Bake for 40 mins

 
If you have any more ideas you would like to share, post them in the comments below.
Zahra Dattu
Food Director
#eatzoftoronto
@eatzoftoronto