Golden delicious, passionfruit and lemon pie. Photo / Jason Dorday
Make one batch of cream cheese pastry, adding the fine zest of half a lemon and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon while combining. Or use bought shortcrust.
1 Peel, core and dice 4 golden delicious apples into eighths.
2 Barely cover with cold water, the juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of honey and just poach.
3 Strain the apples and reduce the liquid to a syrup. Pour back over the apples and cool.
4 Add the pulp of 2 passionfruit.
5 If you have lemon verbena add a leaf or two, and pick a sprig for garnish.
6 Place the filling into your pie dish. Cover with the pastry and cut around the edge to sit just on the rim.
7 Press around the edge with a fork and glaze the pastry with a beaten egg.
8 Make a hole in the middle of the pastry to let the steam out. Sit the sprig of lemon verbena on the pie.
9 Bake in a preheated moderate oven till crisp and browned.
This pie is not over sweet so serve with some sweet whipped cream or ice cream.
New book, New Zealand’s Best Gourmet Pies, features 38 unique pies and their origins.