Perfect Pithiviers....or.....The Easiest Apple Pie!

So you've taken advantage of that marvelous supermarket bargain and bought a load of apples for half the price of what they usually cost or there was that B.O.G.O.F bargain where you bought one bag and got another one free....sounds great at the time especially if the family love apples!

A few days pass and although the family may have have eaten quite a few sometimes they go for days and not fancy anything from the fruit bowl, so there you are with a dearth of apples that nobody seems to be eating and the skin is beginning to wrinkle on them.
You may even be in the lucky position to have some apples trees of your own and have stored your harvest conscientiously over the winter but at this time of year the previous harvests apples are getting 'old' so if you can't make apple jelly or don't want to prepare them for the freezer then why not make pie!
'But I don't want to go to the whole bother of making a big batch of pastry' I hear you say...all that rolling out of dough and lining of pie tins, unless you are a well seasoned cook, can seem like a chore, but here is an excellent way to make pie that is just as tasty and suitable for the freezer if you don't want to bake them straight away.

A 'Pithiviers', named after the town of Pithiviers just south of Paris, is a classic French round, closed tart, or pie if you like, made using two layers of puff pastry between which you can sandwich anything be it sweet or savory, it is then scored with lines on top and the edges scalloped and when baked it looks very fancy.....in fact, one of my most memorable meals ever in France began with a pithivier stuffed with goats cheese and a compote of fresh cherries...it was divine....but back to the dish or rather 'pie' in hand.

My apple pithiviers is the perfectly swift way of using up ageing apples without the bother of making pastry. You can buy good quality, reasonably priced pre-rolled sheets of puff pastry, with each sheet making 1 perfect pithiviers.

You will need............ for each single pithivier that will feed 6 people

300 g peeled eating apples or you can use sour cooking apples if you wish
50 g ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
approx 80 g castor sugar....you may need more if you like your apples sweeter or if using cooking apples
1 sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry
1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon cold water

How to....

• cut the apples into even sized chunks, place a a saucepan, add the 80 g sugar, mix well then cover with a tight lid
• place on a medium heat and cook gently allowing the apples to steam in their own juices
• when they begin to burst and are getting quite soft you will probably see quite a lot of water in the pan but don't worry
• remove the pan from the heat and add the ground almonds and cinnamon
• check for sweetness and add a little more sugar if you think you need to
• allow the apple mixture to cool, you can leave it over night if you like
• to make your pithiviers....unroll a sheet of puff pastry but leave it sitting on the sheet of paper it was wrapped in...this saves messing about with flour on your work surface

• take a side plate or something round that is roughly 20 centimeters wide and cut out 2 circles, these will be the top and bottom of your pithiviers.
• place a pastry disc onto a buttered baking sheet, I like to use quiche tin for handiness
• pile the apple mixture onto the pastry base and spread it evenly leaving a narrow strip of pastry around the edge
• brush the edges with water then place your second pastry disc on top
• pierce a hole in the centre of this disc so as you seal the edges any trapped air can escape
• press the edges down all around with a fork then make a scalloped design by pushing inward with the blunt edge of a knife, now score the top making arc shaped marks from the centre outwards
• place your pithiviers in the freezer for 5 minutes
• beat the egg yolk and water together, remove your pie from the freezer and brush with a layer of the egg wash, it should set immediately against the cold pastry, put the pie back in the freezer for another 2 minutes and repeat again with the egg wash....this process will give a lovely glaze to your pastry
• once that process is done you could freeze your pies now to bake at a later time
• to bake.....pre-heat your oven to 200oC then bake you pie for approx 40 minutes until golden brown and well risen, if baking from frozen it will take longer!

This pie is at it's best when served hot from the oven but you can eat it cold, the pastry just won't be as crispy. Enjoy on it's own or with fresh cream, vanilla ice cream or vanilla custard.....YUM!