Apple pie forms part of the culinary tradition of almost every country in the world and has done so for centuries. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock they were  not the first people there and the Portuguese had been there long before them, as had the Italians – both successfully landing immigrants. Hhad it not been for Squanto, the well spoken, English speaking Indian, they would never have survived at all because life depends on food and without him they wouldn’t have eaten the food they needed to stay alive healthily. The apple, or rather the crab apple (image below),

was already growing there and as much as everyone likes to think that the seeds brought by Pilgrim Fathers gave rise to the first apples, this is not the case – seeds wouldn’t have survived the long sea voyage. In the spirit of acceptance and tolerance let’s pay a special tribute to the Reverend William Blaxton who planted the first successful apple orchard on Bostons’s Beacon Hill in 1925 and to Sqanto, the Patuxet Indian, without whom the pilgrims would not have survived we offer today’s recipe for

American Apple Pie.

Buy enough pastry for a double crust pie. You could make it yourself or go to a local bakery and buy a good pastry of your choice.

Ingredients

• 1,3 kilograms Granny Smith apples
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 175 grams sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 heaped tablespoon butter

Method

• Preheat oven to 200 C.
• Prepare a 22 cm (9 “) pie dish by rolling out half of the pastry on a floured board and lining the pie dish, trimming the pastry and leaving a 2 cm overhang. Refrigerate to chill well.
• Peel, quarter and core the apples and cut those quarters in half. Toss them in a large bowl with the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the spices. Allow to rest for a minute and toss again.
• Remove chilled pie dish and pack the pieces of apple neatly inside the dish, moisten the overhang with water.
• Roll out the other half of the pastry so that it will have a 2 cm overhang as well.
• Tuck the “lid” in over the bottom pastry and crimp the edges to seal.
• Cut vents into the top to allow steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven (200 C) for 20 minutes and then check to see whether the crust is not too golden. Should this be the case cover it with foil, turn the oven down to 180 C and bake for an addition 20 to 30 minutes.
• Allow the pie to cool inside the oven before serving.

In New England, USA it is traditionally served with Cheddar cheese (an old habit brought over from England). A portion is cut and served with a slice of cheddar cheese on top.  However, should this be to much for you, feel free to serve it à la mode as many New Englanders do. For those of you who need the crust right now and don’t feel like, or are unable to pop into a bakery, herewith a recipe for a super easy

Pastry

All the original recipes call for the use of lard but I have substituted butter time and again, with great success. The choice is entirely yours.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 4 tablespoons cold lard, cut into cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt.
• A drop or two of iced water

Method

Sift flour and salt together and then add the butter (and lard) and rub in the flour to make course breadcrumbs. Stir in the drop or two of iced water so that you can turn the whole lot into dough. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

This pastry can be made in a food processor.