Saturday 8 December 2012

Well That's Just Grate!

Piccola Crostata di Mela e Mirtillo Rosso
Individual Apple & Cranberry Pie


They say that size matters. Well- sometimes it does- and sometimes a small size is a very good thing! In this case, the size of this beautiful little pie for example... because had it been just a little larger- I may have felt a pang of guilt for not sharing it. But as it was... I ate the whole thing with no worries at all!

Seriously, this was a fun way to use left-over puff pastry, which was not really enough to make anything "meal-size" but perfectly fine for dessert! So of course, particularly as it was going to be so small, I set out to make this perfectly formed, but quick and easy too- and I promise you that it is! So read on!

Basically, there was only a small surface area of pastry left over- just enough to cut to shape and line the base of an oven-proof dish that was just a little less than saucer-size. But what I did to make it a.) more stable and b.) a lot prettier, was to cut the left-over pastry into thin strips of 1" or so in width, and then to lay them against the outer edge of the dish, building up the layers from the outside in. I had about 4 layers in all- and they all puff-up and fill-out wonderfully in the oven!  All I needed now was a filling and that was really easy!

To fill this little pie, I peeled and apple- a Granny Smith, but you can use whatever you prefer, cut it into quarters, cut away the core and seeds, ate one quarter and the coarsely grated the rest... I love apple! I then sprinkled it with a hint of lemon juice, cinnamon, a tiny hint of salt, Stevia (you can use sugar) and added a handful of dried cranberries. I mixed everything together well, spooned it into the pie and popped the whole thing into a pre-warmed oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes until it was lightly browned, then fetched it out and added a light drizzle of honey before finishing it under the broiler for 2 minutes... See! Told you it was easy! Enjoy!

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