Mixed Nut Pie with Natural Pie Crust

     I was craving for pecan pie some days ago. I have seen it sold in an upscale supermarket here in the Netherlands, but I couldn't be bothered to go around hunting for it. My love for pecan pie started when I was in Singapore. My parents and I would sometimes go to a barbecue/grill restaurant not far from our home. On the dessert menu, there was pecan pie with ice cream. Since I tried it the first time, I have gone back to that restaurant just to have the dessert.
      However pecan pie, or any dessert pie, is often an unhealthy affair with the use of high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, and butter for the crust and filling. Since I couldn't be bothered to hunt for a shop that sells pecan pie here, I raided my kitchen for ingredients and came up with a healthier mixed nut pie complete with a good-for-you pie crust. Both the pie crust and the filling are adaptations of recipes that I found online. The pie crust is naturally sweetened. I used mixed nuts instead of pecans for the pie filling because that's all I had in my kitchen, but feel free to use whatever nuts you like (except peanuts, that just doesn't work very well).

     Surprisingly, my husband enjoyed this nut pie. I never thought that he would like it. He took a bite and I swear he said "OH YEAH! This is gooooood! Yeah!" When I told him that the photo of the pie was disappointing and I was wondering if I should post the photo and recipe here, he said that hopefully the readers don't judge by the photo.

      This photo of the nut pie may not look very appetising. I blame the poor natural winter lighting for the less than satisfactory picture. But hey, look beyond the bad picture and give this pie a try. Don't knock it till you try it!

      I made this in a mini-springform pan that is 6" in diameter. It made a nut pie that is about an inch-thick. You can double the recipe for a bigger or thicker pie. You can even make this in an appropriately sized loaf tin. 

      The crust is an adaptation of a recipe from chocolatecoveredkatie.com, which is a pretty amazing website. The pie filling is one that is posted on Allrecipes.com and I liked the fact that there's no corn syrup in it.

Natural Pie Crust

makes one 6" pie base

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

4 small dates, pitted

2 TBSP dried cranberries

1 to 2 TBSP water

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line and grease the base of a springform pan.

2. Place all the ingredients, EXCEPT WATER, in a food processor or the dry mill of your blender.

3. Blend until everything is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.

4. SLOWLY add a little water to the mixture to make a thick paste.

5. Spoon the paste out into the prepared pan and use a spatula or your fingers to press the paste evenly onto the bottom of the pan.

6. Bake in the preheated for 10 minutes, then remove pan from oven and leave to cool.

Mixed Nut Pie Filling

makes one 6" pie

1 egg

40g light margarine or butter, melted

(I used Flora Light)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 TBSP self-raising flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup nuts, broken 

(almonds, macadamia, walnuts, pecans etc)

1. Preheat oven to 190°C

2. Beat the egg till foamy, then add the melted margarine.

3. Lightly whisk in the brown sugar and the flour.

4. Lastly, add the vanilla extract and stir the nuts in.

5. Pour into springform pan and bake at 190°C for 10 minutes, then drop the heat down to 175°C and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and leave to cool before removing the pie form the pan.

* The pie should have risen and look puffy and brown. It will sink as it cools.

If you are doubling the recipe, add 10 minutes to the baking time.

   

Potato Pie Crust

     Potatoes were once shunned by dieters trying to reduce their carbohydrate intake. However, not all carbohydrates are created equally and potatoes are an excellent choice with many nutrients and a high-satiety value. Don't believe me? Check this link out.
          Did you know that you can use mashed potatoes to make a healthy pie crust? I came across a recipe for a potato crust when I was looking for something healthy to use as a base for a quiche. 'Quiche' in my home is usually more like a baked omelette- no crust, no cream, and with cottage cheese to increase the protein content. But I had some leftover cream in my fridge from when I made a birthday cake for a friend. So I thought I'd make a 'proper' quiche with a crust for once. I wanted to lighten up the quiche by having a healthier crust instead of shortcrust pastry. So I tried a mashed potato crust and it turned out well!
       I have since used this potato crust for savoury pies topped with puff pastry (less sinful when potatoes are used as a base, instead of more puff pastry) and have always gotten good results. Try it out sometime if you need a healthy pie crust. A bonus is that it is so much easier to whip up than to make a shortcrust pastry!

Healthy pie crust, anyone?

Potato Pie Crust

makes enough for one pie crust

250g potatoes, skinned and cut into chunks

1 tsp margarine

Cooking/baking spray

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease one big pie dish or two small pie dishes.

2. Boil the potatoes in cold water till fork-tender.

3. Drain the boiled potatoes and mash well.

4. Add the margarine and stir through.

5. Spoon 1/3 of the mashed potato into the pie dish. Using wet fingers, press the potato to form a thin layer on the bottom of the pie dish.

6. To form the crust up the sides of the pie dish, press the mashed potato upwards from the bottom edge of the pie dish with wet fingers.

7. Spray lightly with cooking spray and bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the crust are lightly browned. 

8. Let the crust cool before adding pie pilling, then bake pie following the normal baking instructions.

     The reason I say to use wet fingers is that it prevents a lot of the mashed potato from sticking to your fingers. The starch from the potatoes is rather sticky and I find that working with wet fingers helps a lot. You might end up with some leftover mashed potato. I had some leftover and gave it to my dog, who enjoyed it!

Ham, leek & mushroom filo pie

     Dinner this evening was a homemade pie. I had some filo pastry in the freezer so I decided to use that instead of potatoes to top the pie. The sauce was made with my usual shortcut white sauce. Look for my 'No-fail, Low-fat White Sauce' recipe
     Filo pastry is a good alternative to shortcrust or puff pastry, if you are concerned with the fat content in your food. It is also versatile in the sense that it can be used for sweet or savoury dishes such as apple strudel, baked chocolate parcels, spring rolls and so on. So if you like filo pastry, be assured that you can store it in the freezer, as long as the sheets of pastry are separated so that you can remove what you need from the freezer. To use frozen filo, simply thaw the frozen pastry in your refrigerator for a few hours.
      I'm not a big fan of filo because it can be so brittle and, hence, tedious to work with. It's good on a pie when you don't need it to look pretty. But for things like samosas, torn filo pastry can be a pain to work with.

My pie bubbled over while baking

Ham, Leek & Mushroom filo pie

makes one 9-inch pie OR 2 smaller individual pies

1 tsp vegetable oil

400g cooked chopped ham

1 cup sliced mushrooms (or more)

250g leeks, sliced thinly

2/3 cup grated carrot, optional

(just to add more nutrition)

1 quantity of my 'No-fail, Low-fat White Sauce'

1/2 tsp dried thyme

salt & pepper

4 or 5 sheets filo pastry

1 TBSP butter/margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare white sauce.

2.  Heat the oil in a non-stick pan.

3. When oil is hot, add the leeks and mushrooms and sauté till the mushrooms are browned.

4. Add the carrot and ham to the pan and sauté for another 2 minutes.

5. Stir the white sauce and thyme into the pan of sautéed ham & vegetables. 

6. Bring the pan to a simmer then turn off the heat. 

7. Check seasonings, add salt and pepper if necessary. I usually use a lot of pepper.

8. Pour the pie filling into your pie dish/dishes. 

9. Get your melted butter ready and lay one layer of filo pastry on the pie filling. You can tear or scrunch the pastry up to make it fit the pie dish.

10. Using a pastry brush, brush butter on the pastry.

11. Repeat the pastry and butter layers until all your pastry is used up.

12. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

13. Leave to sit for 10 minutes (just so that the pie isn't too hot) then serve!

Voila!

I made 2 individual pies because I like having a WHOLE pie

     Lately, I've been making individual pies instead of one bigger pie.  I use a small oven-safe dish (about 20cm diameter) for myself and a slightly bigger Pyrex dish for my husband. I like having my own pie to eat at my own pace. Enjoy your pie!!