Green Tomato and Dried Apple Pie

I have gardens in my yard. LOTS of gardens. Besides flowers, flowering bushes and fruit trees, I have vegetable and fruit gardens. When weather permits, I grow enough fruits and vegetables to keep my family supplied all year and still share with my friends and neighbors. However, there is always that day in the fall when I am in my garden at night with a flashlight picking green tomatoes as fast as I can because freeze warnings are up. Of course, then I have to do something with the green tomatoes. Thus, Green Tomato and Dried Apple Pie.

The Inside Scoop

This recipe works equally well with the original wheat and dairy pie crust, the vegan pie crust or the gluten-free pie crust. For the vodka, I recommend using Salted Caramel Vodka for extra flavor.

Green tomatoes, like their ripe red siblings, are full of water. If you try to make a pie using fresh green tomato slices, you will have green tomato soup rather than pie. Some of the water in the green tomatoes needs to be removed. Decide how many tomatoes you will need to fill your pie, based on the size of your tomatoes and the size of your pie pan. Preheat your oven to 350 degree. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Core your tomatoes, slice them thinly, approximately 3/16″ thick, and lay them in a single layer on the baking sheet. Use two baking sheets, if necessary. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until the tomato slices are partially dried.

I add dried apples to the pie for both flavor and to absorb the remaining water from the green tomatoes. I have a food dehydrator and prefer to dry my own apples because I can do so without treating my apple slices with anything but water. If you do not have a food dehydrator, many stores with a bulk food section will have dried apples. Several sites online also offer dried apples; one site is Nuts.com. (Please note: This is not an endorsement of Nuts.com; rather, I offer it here for convenience.)

Freshly grated nutmeg is far more flavorful than packaged, grated nutmeg. Most stores with a kitchen supply section offer nut graters. Simply grate /1/2 of a nutmeg into your cinnamon and sugar mix.

The cinnamon-sugar mix is enough for a large, deep dish pie. You can either gently (so as not to rip the tomatoes) toss the green tomatoes, dried apples and cinnamon sugar together, or layer the dried apples and green tomatoes. If layering, put a layer of dried apples on the bottom to absorb moisture from the green tomatoes.

Continue alternating layers of dried apples, green tomatoes and cinnamon sugar mix until pie is full.

Once the pie is full, top with two tablespoons of thinly shaved butter. For a vegan pie, use thinly shaved slices of a vegan butter substitute.

Roll out the top crust and lay on top. Trim edges so that crust extends approximately 3/4″ beyond the edge of the upper lip of the pie. Fold the edge of the top crust under the bottom crust and finish the edge with your preferred method (I like scalloping the edge.) Decorate the top of the crust as desired, then use a pastry brush to brush an egg wash over the top crust for a beautiful golden finish. For a vegan alternative, whisk together one tablespoon of corn syrup and two tablespoons of water and brush over the top of the crust.

After assembling the pie, refrigerate it while the oven preheats. This will again chill the butter or shortening in the crust for a flaky crust. Be sure to place a baking sheet in the oven while preheating to avoid the dreaded “soggy bottom.” Make small slices in the top crust to allow steam to vent.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Green Tomato and Dried Apple Pie

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Connie Teunis – Serves: 8

A delicious way to use up one's extra green tomatoes.

Ingredients

• Pie Crust of Choice: Original, Vegan or Gluten-Free
• Enough Green Tomatoes to fill the pie pan
• Sliced, Dried Apples (50-100 g., depending on the size of the pie pan)
• 192 g./ 1 c. Light Brown Sugar
• 1 t. Cinnamon
• ½ Freshly Grated Nutmeg (or 1 t. packaged Ground Nutmeg)
• 32 g./ ¼ c. Cornstarch
• ½ t. Salt
• 4 T. Butter
• 1 egg + 1 T. Water OR 1 T. Corn syrup + 2 T. Water

Instructions

1

Day before: Make the type of crust desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

3

Core green tomatoes; slice thinly and lay on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Oven may be turned off at this time.

4

Once tomatoes are cooled, use a rolling pin to roll out the bottom layer of pie crust and place in pie pan. Trim crust 1/4” beyond the edge of the pie plate.

5

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and salt. Grate nutmeg into the same bowl. Mix together thoroughly.

6

Either: Place green tomatoes, dried apples and cinnamon sugar mix in a medium bowl; toss gently and pour into pie pan. OR

7

Place a layer of dried apples in the bottom of the pie crust. Top with a layer of green tomatoes and cinnamon/sugar mix. Continue layering in this order until pie pan is full.

8

Shave the butter or vegan butter substitute and place on top of the green tomatoes, dried apples and cinnamon sugar mix.

9

Roll out top layer of pie crust. Place on top of pie; trim edge 3/4” beyond lip of pie pan.

10

Fold top edge of crust under bottom edge of crust; press lightly so edges stick together. Finish edge of pie crust. Use leftover scraps of pie crust dough to decorate the top of the crust.

11

Cut 4 1” slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.

12

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. For a vegan pie, whisk together the corn syrup and water. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg or corn syrup wash on top of the crust. Refrigerate.

13

Place a baking sheet on a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pie from refrigerator; place on baking sheet and bake for 45 min. If edge of pie begins to brown excessively, cover edge with strips of aluminum foil.

14

Remove from oven; place on cooling rack to cool.

15

Enjoy!