Philip khoury’s perfect pie

watch, listen, cook

At the tastiest peak of apple season, we find ourselves in the depths of winter. Using local and seasonal fruit is the first step towards making the most of the season’s bounty (peak sweetness is when starch in the fruit has converted to sugar, resulting in the tastiest apple pies, and the benefit of a reduced carbon footprint). I love preparing a plant-based recipe with extra virgin olive oil pastry, or even more local cold-pressed/virgin rapeseed, sunflower or groundnut oil in the pastry. This simple switch in a recipe results in a decadently short, flaky crust, and further reduces the carbon footprint of your recipe. This recipe also borrows a method from the apple pie in my book (right), where I reserve the skins and chop them finely; this sneaks in up to 312% more vitamin K, 70% more vitamin A, 35% more calcium and potassium, and 30% more vitamin C than peeled fruit alone.

Apple pie with flaky olive oil pastry

SERVES 8-10 PREP 1 hr 15 mins plus chilling and cooling COOK 1 hr 30 mins MORE EFFORT V

1.1kg apples, peeled and cored
(keep the peel), flesh cut into
1-2mm slices
130g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
½ lemon, zested and 1 tbsp juice
30g cornflour

For the pastry

450g plain flour
30g caster sugar
180ml olive oil

To finish

plant-based milk, to glaze
2 tbsp demerara sugar,
for sprinkling
vegan ice cream or cream, to serve

1Prepare the pastry by mixing the flour, 1 tsp fine salt and the sugar together in a large bowl. Pour in the the olive oil and use your hands or a silicone spatula to mix it into the flour until golden brown with no specks of flour remaining. Pour in 75ml cold water and mix until a smooth dough has formed. Chill the pastry for 20 mins.

2Put two-thirds of the dough between two sheets of baking parchment, then roll out into a large disc until 2-3mm thick and about 30cm in diameter. Roll out the remaining third of pastry between two sheets of baking parchment into a smaller 25cm disc that is 3mm thick, and put in the fridge.

3Use the larger disc of pastry to line a 23cm tart tin by removing the top sheet of baking parchment and gently placing the tin on top of the pastry as a guide. Use a small, sharp knife to trim the pastry around the tin, allowing for at least a 3cm