Sometimes I like to just make it up as I go in the kitchen. It can be fun to experiment and see what you come up with! I had some leftover pie crust after making a pot pie, and I had a variety of frozen, fresh, and dried fruit. I didn’t have enough of any one or even any two fruits to make a pie, but altogether I had just enough. So I went with the ‘kitchen sink’ way of cooking – throw in everything but the kitchen sink. I had frozen strawberries, frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), frozen mango, a fresh apple, and dried apricots.
I topped it off with some crumb topping and the result was surprisingly yummy! If one fruit makes a tasty pie, then six make an extra tasty pie. The flavors blended really well together, and I think I’ll be mixing fruits in pies more often!
Ingredients:
1 batch of pie crust for a crust on top and bottom, or half a batch for a crust on bottom and crumb topping on top
4-5 cups of fruit ( I used 2 cups of frozen berries, 1 cup of frozen mangos, 1 fresh apple, and about 1 cup of dried apricots)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
Crumb Topping Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegan butter
Directions:
- Prepare your dough and refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour before using. Preheat the oven to 350°.
- If you’re using frozen fruit, defrost it. Chop the fruit and place it in a large bowl. Add the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest. Stir until all of the fruit is evenly coated.
- Prepare the crumb topping. Place the flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter using a pasty blender, fork, or even your hands. You could also use a stand mixer on a low setting until it’s reaches a crumbly texture. Don’t over mix or it will eventually turn into dough rather than crumb.
- If you made a full batch of pie dough, split it in half and roll out one half on a floured surface. It should be rolled to about 1/4 inch thickness. Pick up the dough using the rolling pin to support it and place it in the bottom of the pie dish. Trim excess dough and crimp the edges.
- Pour your fruit mixture into the pie crust and spread it out evenly. Top the pie with the crumb topping. Or, if you’re putting a crust on top, roll out the crust, place it on top of the pie, trim the excess, and crimp the edges. You’ll also want to poke a few holes in the top crust with a fork so steam can vent out.
- Bake the pie at 350° for 45-60 minutes. The crumb should be starting to turn golden, and the fruit juices should be bubbling around the edges.
The Vegan Kat 