Raw Vegan Apple Pie

What could be more American than sweet apple pie? What could be more west coast American than making it raw and vegan friendly? I present to you, this Raw Vegan Apple Pie.

I was given free reign to choose a dessert for Friday evening's meal. I'll take any occasion as an opportunity to make a healthy dessert. Birthdays, potlucks, new pair of training shoes. All pie worthy, no?

 Friday evening is the farewell meal for our guests at Villa Azul and the menu is filled with traditional Spanish fare; paella, tortilla, tomato salad with fresh goat's cheese, pimientos de padron, mojo, etc. I felt like we could use some west coast love. Thus this pie was born.

This pie is something truly special, it maintains all of the flavor components of traditional baked apple pie, lightly crisp apples tossed in cinnamon, with undertones of lemon to brighten it up. The addition of date puree adds a rich, almost carmel, flavor, all on top of a buttery crust thanks to walnuts and almonds. The best part about this pie? It takes only moments to toss together, entirely from scratch.

Raw Vegan Apple Pie makes one 9" pie

Ingredients

• 80g date puree/ 8-10 dates soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
• 1.5 cups raw unsalted almonds
•  3/4 cup raw unsalted walnuts 
• 1/4 tsp sea salt 
• 3 apples, cored and peeled
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Line a 9" tart pan with parchment paper, set aside.

2. In a food processor, pulse almonds to a fine meal, set aside in a medium bowl. Next, pulse walnuts. Walnuts are considerably more oily than almonds, so watch closely, if you see the walnuts start to stick to the sides and bottom of your food processor, scrape them off into the bowl with the almonds. Continue to pulse until all of your walnuts are of a uniform texture, combine with almond meal.

3. If using dates, pulse them in your food processor to make a mini batch of date puree. Add about half of this mixture to the almond/walnut meal along with sea salt. Start modestly with the date puree, you can always add more. Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix until just combined. The dough should be crumbly, but stick together when pressed between your fingers. 

 If it's too dry, add more date puree, if too moist, add more almond meal. Press this mixture into your prepared tart pan, cover, and place in the freezer to chill.

4. Meanwhile, thinly slice your apples. This can be done with a mandolin to get uniformly thin slices, or you can simply use a sharp kitchen knife. I used a soft golden apple for this pie. Because it is raw, the soft apples don't give you too much crunch or overpower the other subtle flavors. This is however, totally adaptable to your personal tastes. Toss the sliced apple in lemon juice and zest, set aside.

5. Combine the remaining date puree with filtered water, and cinnamon in your food processor until smooth, about 15 seconds. Pour over sliced apples and toss to evenly coat.

6. Remove crust from the freezer, layer in apple sliced. Freeze for at least 45 minutes before serving. This is also great to enjoy within the next few days (if it lasts that long), just be sure to remove from the freezer 30 minutes before serving if completely frozen.

 Enjoy in good company. Que aproveche!