Spiced apple and date pie (raw)

Ingredients 

For the crust 

• 200g macadamia or cashew nuts
• 150g pecans or walnuts
• 50g dates
• Large pinch of sea salt

For the filling

• 150g dried apples, roughly chopped
• 480ml apple juice
• 375g apples (about 3 or 4)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 8 dates, soaked
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Large pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Small pinch of sea salt

For the topping

• 90g pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
• 4 big fat dates, finely chopped
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Large pinch of ground cinnamon

Method

1. Soak the dried apples in the apple juice for an hour.
2. To make the crust, pulse all the ingredients in a blender until a rough, sticky crumble is formed.
3. Gently press the crust down into a shallow pie dish or plate roughly 23cm in diameter. Pop it into the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
4. Drain the dried apples, which should now be soft and plump. Core and chop the fresh apples, leaving the peel on, and put them in the lemon juice.
5. Put half the fresh apples into a blender with the dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, maple syrup and salt, and pulse until well combined. Pour in a little of the apple juice from the dried apples if the filling is too thick. Add the rest of the fresh and dried apples, then spoon on to the pie crust and smooth out.
6. To make the topping, mix together the pecans, dates and vanilla in a bowl and spread over the top of the pie to form a crust. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
7. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour to chill. Serve at room temperature.

From Peace & Parsnips by Lee Watson, published by Michael Joseph