This is a traditional apple pie with a twist! Adding pureed kale to the lemon pastry makes it bright green, but the flavor of the kale fades away. It's such an easy way to jazz up pie.
1cup(50g) firmly packed raw kaleleaves only – woody stalks discarded
2cups(240g) all purpose flour (plain flour)
1stick(120g) cold buttercut into cubes
1egg yolk
⅓cup(40g) powdered icing sugar
1teaspoonfinely grated lemon zest
1-2tablespoonsvery cold water
For the filling:
1lb(500g, approx 2) large cooking apples (such as bramley or granny smith), peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
7oz(200g approx 2) small eating apples (such as cox or macintosh), peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
2tablespoonswater
3tablespoonslight brown sugar
2tablespoonslemon juice
½teaspoonground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the pastry first.
Simmer or steam the kale leaves for a few minutes until tender. Refresh under cold water, drain, squeeze out any excess moisture and puree with a hand held blender until fine. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, sugar, zest and kale puree, then pulse gently until it forms a ball. You may need to add a tablespoon or so of cold water. You don’t want it too wet.
Press the dough into a flat disc shape, to aid rolling later, cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least half an hour or even overnight.
For the filling:
Stir the chopped apples, water, sugar and lemon juice together in a pan and simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes until soft and the moisture has mostly evaporated. Remove from the heat, stir in the cinnamon and allow to cool while cooking the pastry.
To assemble:
Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9” pie dish with butter.
Roll ⅔ of the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until thin and line the pie dish. Spread the cooled apples into the pastry shell.
Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into even ½ inch strips. Lay strips over the filling horizontally leaving ½ inch gaps. Fold back every other strip halfway. Lay a vertical strip down the middle, unfold the strips over it, fold back the other strips, lay another strip vertially and repeat to weave. Tuck the strips under the rim and crimp.