We had to clear some things out of the freezer when we swapped the fridge over and that left me with a batch of sourdough pastry that needed using. In theory this pie is meant to have a spiced almond-spelt pastry, but I figured the sourdough pastry would work just fine. And I took the spices that were meant to go into the pastry and added them to the filling instead.

The result was okay, but not great. That said, it was the filling, not the pastry that was the issue. The recipe called for "apple purée". I had a can of unsweetened applesauce on hand, so I used that and then added a sliced apple to make up the missing volume. I don't like how mushy the filling came out though. I think next time I'd just use sliced apples rather than sauce or purée. The recipe also didn't make enough filling, so I ended up having to chop up a couple of extra feijoas to add to the mix. I also feel like it could've done with more spices and a little extra sweetener as well. So, all-in-all, probably not one that I'd bother making again. At least not in this form. But I'm glad that I tried it.

Apple-Feijoa Pie

Adapted from NZ Women's Weekly

Ingredients

Pastry

• sourdough pastry
OR
• 125g butter
• 1 1/2 c. ground almonds
• 1 1/2 c. spelt flour
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs

Filling

• 2 c. chopped feijoa flesh
• 2 c. sliced apples
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/4 c. brown sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (if using sourdough crust)
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon (if using sourdough crust)

Topping

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds or sugar

Directions

1. For spelt pastry, add butter, almonds, flour, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and baking soda to a food processor and pulse until mixture looks sandy. Then, with processor running, add eggs, one at a time, and process until mixture comes together. For sourdough pastry, follow instructions for that recipe.
2. For either pastry, chill for ~30 minutes before continuing.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
4. Roll out 1/2 to 2/3 of the pastry and use it to line a 23cm (9") pie plate.
5. Combine the feijoas, apples, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon (if using) and dump into the pie shell.
6. Roll out the remaining pastry and use it to make either a plain or a lattice top for your pie, then crimp the edges.
7. Brush with egg and sprinkle with your choice of sesame seeds or sugar.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes.
9. Serve with cream or ice cream.