red or green?: Apple & Green Chile Crustless Pie

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Apple & Green Chile Crustless Pie

OK, I am now a true New Mexican in that I have a freezer full of roasted green chile! It is chile season and, all over New Mexico and Southern Colorado, chiles are being roasted in huge barrels everywhere you look. I cannot describe the scent; I can only say roasting chiles smell amazing. We bought a bushel full last weekend and I am now on a mission to find as many recipes as possible to use up the bounty. One idea...apple & green chile pie.

I know you may be thinking...EEK!, but I did not make this up. I have been reading recipes for this pie for years. I couldn't decide if I loved or hated the idea. So, when I heard it was apple week for the first week of Food Network's Fall Fest, I decided to experiment. I settled on the just the pie filling topped with toasted nuts and served with ice cream. Guess what? Delicious.

The green chile adds a wonderful savory note to the typical apple pie taste and the hint of heat with the sweetness of coconut sugar & agave nectar is a wonderful complement. The spices and vanilla ice cream pull everything together. What an unexpected treat. Next time I will add this to a pie crust. My new fall dessert. Can't wait to make this for my California friends and family.

Apple & Green Chile Crustless Pie
(adapted from the New York Times Apple-Green Chili Pie recipe 11/16.2010)
4 large granny smith apples, cored and cut into 1 inch wedges
4 roasted green New Mexican chiles, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for pie pan
ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 or 10 inch pie plate with olive oil and set aside.

Add apples, green chiles, lemon juice and agave to large bowl and stir together. Sprinkle coconut sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt & pepper over apples and stir to mix. Pour into prepared pie pan. Sprinkle nuts over apple mixture. Drizzle olive oil over nuts.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 40-60 minutes until apples are soft when pierced with a sharp knife. If nuts begin to brown too much cover with foil. Remove from oven and allow to cool to warm. Serve topped with vanilla or caramel ice cream. I like to drizzle some of the apple pan juices over the ice cream. Enjoy!