Toronto Restaurants by Stephanie Dickison

View Original

The Big Social with Chef Lynn Crawford’s Harvest Apple Pie

Stephanie Dickison

You may know celebrity chef Lynn Crawford her award-winning restaurants (Riverside/Leslieville’s Ruby Watchco, The Hearth at Pearson International Airport Toronto), hit Food Network TV shows (Restaurant Makeover, Pitchin’ In, The Great Canadian Cookbook, Iron Chef Canada), and as a judge on Top Chef Canada, Chopped Canada and appearances on countless other shows.

Or maybe you covet her acclaimed cookbooks as I do: Lynn Crawford’s Pitchin’ In: More Than 100 Great Recipes from Simple Ingredients, At Home with Lynn Crawford: 200 of My Favourite Easy Recipes, and most recently, Farm to Chef: Cooking Through the Seasons. 

This month, she’s taking part in Community Food Centres Canada’s The Big Social - a national fundraising campaign on from November 1 to 10 to raise money to” give low-income Canadians better access to healthy food and programs that change lives.”

Want to get involved? It couldn’t be easier:

  1. Register to host your event. It can be whatever you like: dinner party, office lunch, potluck, casual dinner with the fam, supper club, cocktails + apps, brunch fest…

  2. Set your fundraising goal.

  3. Invite guests.

  4. Ask them to make a donation.

Whatever theme or event you choose, pie is always a good idea. Chef Lynn’s Harvest Apple Pie, in particular.

In her latest cookbook, Farm To Chef: Cooking Through The Seasons, she writes:

“I love pie. A good apple pie stuffed with just-picked apples tossed with cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar nestled in a buttery crust… oh yes, that’s what I’m talking about. But which apple to choose, you ask? Tart or sweet, or a combination of both - I will leave that decision up to you.”

Whether you choose to serve it on its own, à la mode, with whipped cream or cheese, with the arrival of cooler weather, Ontario apples in abundance right now, and a wonderful way to give back to those that need it most, it’s the perfect time for a slice of delicious homemade apple pie.

Harvest Apple Pie from Farm To Chef: Cooking Through The Seasons

Ingredients

Pie Dough

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling on top

  • 1 tsp salt

  • ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

  • ¹∕³ cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into chunks

  • 6 to 8 tbsp cold water

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash

Apple Filling

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar

  • ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • ½ tsp nutmeg

  • 8 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Make the Pie Dough

  1. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, butter, and shortening. Pulse until mixture resembles pea-size crumbles. Add 6 tablespoons water and continue to pulse until dough comes together. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers, and if it is very crumbly, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not over-process. Divide dough in half and flatten each half into a disc. Wrap discs in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour before using.

  2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each disc of dough into a 12-inch circle. Fold one round into quarters and place dough into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Unfold dough, then press firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to ½ inch over the edge of pie plate. Set aside.

Make The Apple Filling And Bake The Pie

  1. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add apples and lemon juice and toss lightly to coat. Dust apples with flour and toss again. Spoon apple mixture into prepared crust.

  2. Brush edge of bottom crust with some egg wash. Top with the second pastry round and trim edges to about 1 inch over the rim. Tuck edge of the top crust under edge of the bottom crust and crimp both together with your fingers or a fork. Brush entire top crust with egg wash, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut three 1-inch slits in top crust. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling about 1 hour. Let cool completely before serving.

Chef Lynn Crawford’s Harvest Apple Pie is excerpted from FARM TO CHEF: COOKING THROUGH THE SEASONS © 2017 by Lynn Crawford. Photography © 2017 by Virginia Macdonald. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Random House/Penguin Canada. All rights reserved.