Mile-High Apple Pie with Tart Cherries and Spicy Crumb Topping

It’s October, and October means the harvest, the harvest means apples, and apples mean apple pie! I got the urge to make one the other day, putting my own special spin on it (as I do), and it is delicious. Loaded with tart Granny Smith apples, offset with the tangy sweetness of dried tart cherries, with a crumb topping spiced up with a tiny bit of heat from Melissa’s Hatch Chile Pecans. This will satisfy whatever craving you happen to be having at the moment.

Mile-High Apple Pie

with Tart Cherries and Spicy Crumb Topping

 4 lbs. Melissa’s Granny Smith apples
1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried tart cherries
1 lemon, zested
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 T. bourbon
½ c. granulated sugar
½ c. flour
1 t. kosher salt
¾ t. ground cinnamon
½ t. freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 t. ground allspice
1/8 t. ground cloves
1 pie crust
1 recipe Spicy Crumb Topping (below)

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Core, peel, and slice apples. (I use this apple corer/slicer, and then cut each slice in half.)

In a large bowl, combine apples, cherries, orange zest and juice, bourbon, sugar, flour, salt, and spices. Toss together to coat.

Fill whatever pie crust you have chosen to use (homemade or purchased, I don’t judge) with the apple mixture.  Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and mound on the crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes until the juices bubble out. Midway through the baking process, cover the top of the pie with a sheet of foil to keep from getting too dark.

Serve pie warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Spicy Crumb Topping

1 cup flour
½ c. brown sugar
¼ c. Melissa’s Green Hatch Chile Pecans
½ c. (1 stick) butter, cold, cubed

In the work bowl of food processor pulse together flour, brown sugar, and pecans until thoroughly combined. Add butter all at once, and pulse until it forms a crumbly mixture about the size of peas.

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Peppery Pecan Pasta Florentine

When you think of pasta, you may not consider it a dish that’s very exciting. This recipe will change your mind about that. I had such a taste for pasta, but with the temperatures around 93° all this week — I am not happy — needed something lighter than typical heavy white or red sauce fare. When I started thinking about things that reminded me of summer, spinach and lemons came to mind. So, incorporating those two items, and a host of others, I created this.

This is a pasta dish that won’t soon be forgotten. It is bright, peppery, and complex. The lemon juice gives it a citrus-y freshness, the pecans add nutty, woodsy heat, spinach adds both flavor and nutrition, and the basil provides a wonderfully pesto-like addition, all of which combine to make this one amazing dish. Try it at your first opportunity.

Peppery Pecan Pasta Florentine

½ lb. angel hair pasta
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t. dried chili flakes
Zest of 1/2 lemon
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bag baby spinach, chopped, rough cut, or left as is
1 t. kosher salt
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

½ c. Melissa’s Green Hatch Pecans, rough chopped
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan

Cook pasta according to package direction; drain, reserving one cup pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat in a 9-inch sauté pan. Add garlic and pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add spinach and lemon zest, and cook for two minutes until spinach is wilted. Add the pasta, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, basil, salt, and pepper. Toss until coated. While tossing, pour in reserved pasta water, a little at a time, until a creamy texture is achieved.

Add pecans and Parmesan, and toss one more time before dividing among plates. Garnish with a few additional pecans and gratings of cheese.

Makes two main dish portions or four starter or side dish portions.

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