foods i make

Asian Pear, Almond, Banana, Coconutty Pie

We had a few guests from Spain over for dinner last night and I wanted to make something as American as Apple Pie for dessert, only with a healthy gluten-free vegan twist. So, here’s what I came up with: An Asian Pear and Gala Apple Pie with an Almond, Banana and Coconut crust.

The beauty about this recipe is that it’ll fool all of your anti-vegan and gluten-free eating guests. If you don’t say the “V-word” they’ll never know. But you should warn them that there are almonds in the crust, just in case of any allergies. 

A quote from our one American friend who was over last night: “WOW! This is something that Mom would make, only she never knew how!”  Yeah…I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a win.

{Recipe makes one 9in pie} 

THE GOODS:

• 3 cups Almond flour
• 2 bananas
• 1 1/2 tbs extra virgin coconut oil
• 6 large Asian Pears
• 3 large Gala Apples
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup agave

THE HOW:

{Pie Crust}

1. Mix 3 cups Almond Flour, 1 1/2 bananas and extra virgin coconut oil in mixer for about 2-4 minutes or until all ingredients are nicely mixed together and you have a nice doughy/gooey consistency. Do not overmix.
2. Place ingredients in your favorite pie tin or round cake tin and spread evenly along the base and sides of the tin. {If you’re using a standard round cake tin, bring the crust up about 1.5-2 inches from the bottom}
3. Bake in oven at 350º for 30 minutes. 
4. Set aside.

NOTE: I used extra virgin coconut oil in the crust to both hold the crust together and for taste. But if you’d rather leave the coconut flavoring out, you can use refined coconut oil (not extra virgin) instead. Both of these you can find at your local Whole Foods Market. 

{Pie Filling}

1. Peal, core and cut the asian pears and gala apples into slender slices (roughly 1-2mm thick)
2. Place slices into large mixing bowl, add cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and agave, then gently toss the ingredients together until all the slices have a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and agave goodness on them.
3. Spread the apple mixture evenly onto a large cookie tray and bake in oven at 350º for 40 minutes

NOTE: Asian Pears hava a lot of water in them, so cooking them before adding to the pie crust will prevent the crust from getting soggy.

{The Pie}

1.  With a spatula, scoop the pre-cooked pear and apple filling from the cookie tray into the pre-cooked pie crust. Pack the filling in tightly so that you aren’t left with any empty pockets in your pie - no one likes an empty slice of pie ;)
2. Place pie in oven and bake at 325º for 20 minutes.
3. Take out, marvel at the amazing vegan, gluten-free pie that you just made, let cool for a few minutes, then serve to your drooling audience.

Happy Fall Baking!