Oriental applepie

A different version of the traditional polish apple pie- with a hint of sweet mango and a kick of freshly minced ginger- this pie made my day.
In Poland, there are a few aproaches to apple pies- one is to make mush  from apples, and cover it with grated frosted pie crust. Or slice apples  onto sponge cake and add peach slices. Or cover it up with whipped egg whites. It's all really good, but looks really mushy, which doesn't really match up with my appetite.

So what do I do? I make a applepie fitting my terrible aestetic needs.
Plus I had some dried mango and fresh ginger to use.
But you didn't know that. I'm kind of crafty :P

I think I just gave away what exactly you have to do. Well, nearly.

Type of dish: dessert, cake
Serves: many hungry people
Cost: medium
Difficulty: easy
Time: 1,5h
Prep time: 30min
Baking time: 45 min
Oven temp: 190C

You'll need:
a large baking tray, medium mixing bowl, rolling pin, electric beater, medium saucepan with lid, wooden spatula, rubber spatula, cutting board, sharp knife, cup, teaspoon,


Ingredients:

• 6-7 large apples mixed ( tangy and sweet)
• 100gr minced dried mango
• 6 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tbsp
• zest from 1 lemon
• 100gr currants or raisins (or cranberries)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
•  2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 100gr butter softened

Dice your apples and put in the saucepan. Add the minced ginger, mango, raisins, cinanmon and sugar. Pour in half a cup of water and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice. Mix well and cover on medium heat.
 On a working space sift together the flour , baking powder, vanilla extract, 3 tbsp of sugar, egg yolks and butter. Use a knife to cut up the batter, then knead for a few minutes until the crust is elastic, pliable and shiny. Cover in wrap and put in fridge for 30min.
Watch if the apples are coming apart, mix them from time to time. When part of the apples is mush, or what some people call it applesauce, and the rest of the apples are intact. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Preheat oven. Grease the pan. Beat the egg whites stiff with a spoon of sugar but use a beater.;) Take the pie crust from the fridge and roll it out to fit the baking tray. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Transfer the applesauce on the crust, and smooth out. Cover the apples with the beaten egg whites and put in the oven to bake for  about  40-45 min in 190C.
Leave  to cool down and serve either warm with a serving of vanilla icecream.  Go crazy and add some whipped cream if you feel like it!

Potato pie with veggies

I usually don't do pies, because even though they look nice, they usually don't taste that great. I did this one because potatoes are cheap, I had veggies that I had to use or else I would forget about them, and I did have some odd pieces of meat (bacon, ham, some sausage). But you can make this meat- free, and it still tastes good.
A plus- if you make  or have too much mashed potatoes leftover, store them in the frigde and make the next day wonderful, fluffy and light gnocchi
There is a lot of peeling involved, some cutting, some mashing action, grating too, and in general, there should be a light gravy sauce to make this pie perrrfect.
Purr.
:)

Type of dish: main, pie
Difficulty: easy
Cost: cheap
Serves: 4
Time: 1,5h
Prep time: 45 min
Baking time: 45 min
Oven temp: 180C

You'll need:
peeler, cutting board, sharp knife, large frying pan, a large saucepan with lid, a deep round baking dish, spatula, masher, big mixing bowl, grater, spoon

Ingredients:

• vegetables of your choice (carrots, brocoli, parsnip, turnip, leek, peas, onions, cauliflower)
• meat of your choice ( bacon, ham, cold meat, leftovers, sausage)
• 40gr grated hard cheese like parmesan or pecorino
• 0,5 kg potatos, peeled and cubed (cooks faster)
• olive oil
• Cheese grated (edam, gouda, doesn't matter)
• 1 tbsp flour or breadcrumbs
• 1 egg and 1 yolk
• S&P
• nutmeg
• 2 tbsp butter
• herbs like thyme, basil, parsley,

How to you do? How to do:
Heat a pot  of water with the potatoes, salt a teaspoon, and cook 15-20 min. When the water boils, turn down heat to medium high and let it simmer. When the potato cubes are soft, you can pierce them easily with a fork, drain and transfer them to the bowl. Mash them up, adding butter, nutmeg and cheese as you go. When the potatoes aren't so hot anymore, add the eggs and mash more. Set aside.
Peel the veggies you'll use, and slice them. Cut up the meat. Cut up some fresh herbs.
Heat up the frying pan on hig meat, drizzle some olive oil and throw in the vegetables and fry them up, so they won't be as hard. Start by the harder vegetables, like carrots, parsnip, turnip, adding later cauliflower, brocoli florets and onions and leek at the end. At the very end, add the meat to heat it up a bit. Then remove from heat and when it cools down a bit, add the grated yellow cheese.
Heat your oven to 180C. Take the baking dish, smear some olive oil on the sides and bottom. Sift some flour or breadcrumbs on the inside surface. Take the cooled mashed potatoes and start covering the insides. Make  the crust at least around 1 cm thick. You should have some leftover mashed potatoes, roll them into logs and flatten out to 0,5cm.
In the midle toss the veggies from the frying pan, and cover the sides with the flattened logs. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on your finger and gently cover the rim with the oil. Sprinkle the herbs on top of the veggies and put in the oven for about 45 min. When the top starts turning golden brown, it's time to turn off the oven, and serve,