In the spirit of 'trick-or-treat,' today I made a Zapple Pie. Zapple Pie is both a trick and a treat. In reality it's a zucchini pie, but to your taste buds, it's a delicious apple pie.
As I baked the pie, Weston employees filtered through from as far as the back offices:
"I smell apple pie all the way at my desk!"
"Actually, it's zapple pie."
"What's that?"
"It's made with zucchini."
"Ick, I hate zucchini."
But they loved my Zapple Pie... because it tastes nothing like zucchini! Here's how I made a zucchini pie that was pleasing to the eye as well as to the taste buds:
First I made my crust dough with shortening, hot water, milk, salt, semolina, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. I let it chill in the refrigerator for 40 minutes and started on my zapple pie filling.
I started by peeling the zucchini, cutting it in half and then slicing it with a Weston Mandoline Vegetable Slicer with the waffle blade attached. This ensures that when everyone cuts into the pie, the zucchini looks extra delicious inside. Then, I cooked the zucchini in lemon juice with brown sugar, butter, and flour, and cinnamon.
While it tenderized, I prepared my crust. The reason I used semolina rather than all purpose flour in my crust dough was so that I could use a pasta machine to roll out my crust and make decorative designs. Regular pie crust dough is usually too sticky to be rolled through a pasta machine. I rolled my dough with a Roma by Weston Traditional 6" Pasta Machine. Pie crust doesn't need to be as thin as pasta, so I only went about half way through the roller settings. Rather than making one big pie, I made two separate pot pie-sized pies. I layed out the sheet of pie crust dough and shaped it around the tin. Then, I pre-cooked the crust for ten minutes, or until hot to the touch.
While the crust was in, I rolled out the remaining dough, then rolled it through the Lasagnette Attachment for the Roma by Weston Traditional Style Pasta Machine. Once the filling thickened, I poured it into my pie crusts. Then, I cross-striped the pie with the lasagnette-shaped dough strands. I put the pies into the oven for 40 minutes, or until the cross strands were fully cooked, and served it to my co-workers warm.
Recipes
Tools
• Weston Oven Liners
• Pot Pie Tins
