My apple pie

Well the auction has been and gone and failed miserably. The house is now on the market normally, and I have to carry on and just hope it sells in the not too distant future. 

So I thought I'd share a recipe with you today. Fancy a slice of yummy apple pie?...

We planted a few apple trees in our orchard when we moved here, and this year had a bumper crop. I've made stewed apple, and eaten apples straight from the tree, but my absolute favourite is apple pie. In fact we've had that much fruit, rather than pick it all and have to store it, I tend to leave it on the tree until I need it. The downside is when I came to pick it it looked like this....

But once I'd peeled off their dirty jackets they looked much better....

Nothing gets wasted in our house, the peel goes in the compost, and the cores go to whoever gets there first - cows, sheep, horse, they all queue up!

I tend to just wing it with my apple pie, and don't weigh stuff, but I have this time, especially for you!

I used 1.5kg apples (weight before peeling), peeled, cored and sliced. Not too thin (it'll go mushy) and not too thick. In it goes to a saucepan with 4oz (115g) sultanas, 1/3 cup water and 3oz (85g) brown sugar. 

These are Granny Smith apples, so I guess if you were using a sharper cooking apple, like a Bramleys you may want a bit more sugar, but I like to taste the tartness of the apples rather than just a sugary taste. After 15 minutes on a medium simmer they look like this....

Just right, softened up but still have some shape and bite. There is a bit more liquid in there now, as the juice has seeped out of the apples, but I like to put that in the pie too. 

Whilst the apples are cooking, you can get on with the pastry. I tend to make more than I need, so I can make a few jam tarts or mince pies too. I put 12oz (340g) flour and 6oz (170g) butter in the food processor, and whizzed it up until like breadcrumbs. Please excuse the state of my poor food processor, it's been dropped a few times, so is a bit bashed and chipped, but it still works fine even after thirty years use! I was thinking I would leave it behind when we move back to the UK, but I think after all that loyalty despite the abuse, it deserves a forever home. 

Drizzle in about 3 tablespoons cold water, and whizz until combined. Add it gradually, as you may need less, or more, it can vary depending on the flour used, the weather etc. Also, don't blend too much or it can make your pastry tough. Just enough to combine. 

I roll my pastry out between two sheets of cling film. It stops the pastry sticking to the work top, and makes it easy to pick up (plus using too much flour when rolling out can make the pastry tough). Now to do it 'properly' you should rest the pastry in the fridge for at least half an hour, but I can never be bothered. 

Once it's rolled out, take the top cling film off and roll pastry over your rolling pin....

 Then it's easy to just flip over and unroll over the pie....

Ok, I wouldn't win top marks for appearance on the Great British Bake Off, but I don't care as long as it tastes good!

After 45 minutes in the the oven at 180 degrees C (Gas Mark 4/ 350 degrees F) it looks like this. Very rustic!

They say opposites attract, well I like my pie with cream, and OH likes icecream. Either way, it's yummy!

Plus, as I made extra pastry, we get these to munch on too!....

Xxxx