Autumn is the season filled with delicious produce. It is the perfect time to make good use of the apples, pumpkin, butternut squash, peaches, plums, and much more. The best way to use these seasonal produces is by baking pies, and galettes. Nothing smells quite as good as the aroma of a freshly baked pie. Gather the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, maple and get baking:
- Cinnamon Apple Pie
To make the pastry, mix flour, cold unsalted butter, a pinch of salt, chopped rosemary springs and cold ice water. Cover with cling film and set it to cool in the refrigerator. To make the apple filling, start with chopping apples into long slices. Sauté the apples in butter, maple syrup for 5-7 minutes. Add ground cinnamon, vanilla, clove, rosemary, and nutmeg. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove from heat. Roll the pastry into two 12” circles. Press one circle into a pie plate and trim the edges. Add the pie filling in the crust and cover with another circle. Brush with egg wash and drizzle some cinnamon sugar. Place the pie plate in a baking tray and cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes until the fruit is tender. Cool the pie on a wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream. Swap the regular chocolate birthday cake with a classic apple pie for the fall season.
- Peach Galette
A galette is like a pie, with flaky layers. Use a standard pie crust for this recipe. Roll out a 13” circle and place it in a lined baking tray. Make sure to use ripe peaches as it’ll give the maximum flavor. Arrange the peaches in a spiralized pattern leaving a 2” border around the edge of the crust. Brush some honey on the peaches and scatter some thyme leaves on top. Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar. Fold edges of the crust over the peaches. Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Serve warm.
- Egg, Spinach & Feta Pie
Use the standard pie crust for this delicious savory pie. In a pan, sauté some white onion and garlic in olive oil. Add a handful of baby spinach, and cook until it wilts. Sieve the mix to drain the excess liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a separate bowl, mix egg and ricotta cheese. Gently fold the ricotta mix with the spinach. Spray cooking oil in a cake tin and line it with the filo sheets. Spoon the spinach and cheese mix. Fold the edges of the filo crust to cover the pie. Brush the top with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve this pie warm or cold with a side of leafy green salad.
