Apricot and Damson Pie with Salted Pistachio Crumble

One of my favourite summer desserts is a slice of juicy pie with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche. We are lucky to have a damson tree where we live, and the wind made a beautiful purple-ish carpet under the tree, sending me cues to make a pie with them. To take it further, I made it with whole-grain spelt crust and pistachio crumble.

In recent years I have been researching and educating myself about different kinds of grains and their impact on our climate, food chain, farmers, and diet. There has been a movement to start growing better grains and re-introducing whole grains and ancient grains into the culinary world, consequently having more pleasing and sophisticated savours, textures, and of course, nutritional value.

If you don't have access to spelt flour, you can use all-purpose flour instead.

Ingredients

For the spelt pie crust

80 grams all-purpose flour 

80 grams whole-grain Spelt flour

120 grams cold butter, cubed

1 tbsp sugar

3-4 tbsp ice-cold water

For the pie filling

850 grams mix of apricots and Damson plums (I added a hand-full of blueberries too!)

120 grams sugar

splash of lemon juice

25 grams corn starch

15 grams all-purpose flour 

For the pistachio crumble

25 grams sugar

50 grams butter, melted and cooled

75 grams all-purpose flour 

50 grams ground pistachios

generous pinch of Maldon salt

Method

For the spelt pie crust

In a medium bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, whole-grain Spelt flour, and sugar until well incorporated.

Add the cold butter cubes to the bowl, and using your fingers, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until a few pea-sized pieces of butter are left in the bowl. If the weather is warm or the butter is becoming soft, refrigerate the bowl for a few minutes.

Add the ice-cold water one tablespoon at a time, and gently mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until a dough forms. The dough should not be wet. It is noteworthy not to knead the dough but press it gently until it doesn't fall apart. 

Make the dough into a flat disk, wrap it nicely with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. 

To par-bake the pie crust: 

Preheat the oven to 200° C (180° C fan). 

Roll out the dough on your working surface until it is around 3-4 mm thick. Carefully move the dough into a pie dish, crimp all around the dough, and gently dock with a fork. Press a parchment paper into the shell and fill it with beans/pie weights.

Bake the case for 30 mins until it is golden on the edge. Remove the beans/pie weights, then bake for 12 more minutes or until it looks lightly golden. Set aside while preparing the filling.

For the filling

Destone the apricots and Damsons and cut them into quarters. Toss with the sugar and leave for at least one hour.

Strain the fruits from their juice. Sift the cornstarch and the flour into the liquid and whisk until homogenous and there are no lumps. Add back the juice to the fruits and mix gently with a spoon.

For the pistachio crumble

In a small bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, ground pistachio, salt, and sugar until well incorporated.

Add the melted butter and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until it clumps. 

You will have more crumble than you need! Store the rest in the fridge and use it to make a crumble cake.

To assemble

Preheat the oven to 190° C (170° C fan). 

Add the fruits to the par-baked pie shell and sprinkle generously with the pistachio crumble.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and the fruits are bubbling.

Let the pie cool down for at least 2 hours before slicing it. The pie is best eaten fresh, but keep well for a couple days at room temteprature. 

Noosh-e-Jaan, may it nourish your soul. x