Apple Pie with Crumb Topping, GAPS & RESTART Approved

  • 2 cups organic almond flour
  • 2-3 T whey or brine from a ferment (I used the brine from my fermented lemons)
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 T butter, ghee, coconut oil, or lard
  • ¼ t sea salt
  • 1 whole egg or flax egg1
  • Approx. ½” fresh grated ginger
  • 2 t ground cinnamon
  • 1 smidgen nutmeg (smidgen = 1/32 t)
  • ¼ c chopped pecans or walnuts (or more if you like lots of nuts)
  • 4-5 large apples2, peeled and sliced (it’s hard to say how many, you want enough for a full pie plate)
  • Fresh whip cream

2 Days Prior to Baking.  Mix whey or brine with almond flour so all the almond flour is completely wet.  Mixture will be crumbly.  Cover and put in a temperate location (68-72°F) for 48 hours to neutralize the phytates (an antinutrient that bounds to minerals and prevents the absorption of your minerals) in the nuts.  If using a flax egg, you can make this now and keep in the frig so that it is ready when it is time to make the pie.  4

Time of Baking.  Heavily grease a 9” deep dish pie plate.  To determine how many apples will fit in your pie plate, peel and slice apples, filling pie plate as you go.  Once filled to capacity dump the apple slices into a large bowl and set aside.

Using a food processor, mix neutralized (aka: fermented) almond flour, lemon zest and butter.  Scoop out ¼ cup of mixture and set aside for making crumb topping.  Now add the egg and process to form a ball.  Pat into pie plate extending up edges.  Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes, using a pie crust shield to protect edges.

Meanwhile, for crumb topping, mix reserved crust, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans.  Fill pie crust with apples.  Top with crumb topping.

To prevent the crust and topping from burning, cover first with parchment paper, then aluminum foil, then the pie crust shield3.  Bake at 425°F for approx. 30 minutes or until apples are done.  The first time I made this, I did not use the foil, and crumb topping started to burn, and the cinnamon did not sink into the apples. Hence, I gently stirred it into the apples a little bit after it had baked.  This pie was absolutely delicious.  I used Gold Rush apples which get very soft and too me are quite sweet.  I thought the pie tasted better after I refrigerated it.  In fact, I enjoyed it more a week later than I did the first day.

Serve with fresh whipped cream if desired.  This actually is a healthier way to eat your pie, as the fat will help deter the glucose surge and the need for excess insulin.  And as my RESTART participants will tell you, FAT is a nutrient.

1 Flax egg. Mix 1 T ground flax seed with 2 ½ T hot water.  Let set for 30 minutes or more to get to an egg consistency.

2 To be RESTART approved, you will need to use green apples

3 Alternatively, if you are like me and do not like using disposable products, you can use an inverted cake pan or cookie sheet on top of the pie crust shield in lieu of the parchment paper and aluminum foil.

4 If you think this fermentation step is more than you are ready for now, then skip it for the time being. As much as I think soaking all our grains and nuts is important, I recognize we can only do so much, especially when we are just learning to eat clean.

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Enjoy this wintertime essential. 

When cold season hits, what’s better to have on hand than homemade, nutrient dense bone broth?

Get your free guide along with monthly REAL food tips & inspiration right to your inbox.
 
Simply sign up with your name and email address.