My children love fruit pies and they are a wonderful way of making use of seasonal fruit from the garden. Recently we have been enjoying raspberry and strawberry pies but if we are short of produce I will often make up use of bags of frozen fruit – pitted frozen cherries are fabulous and naturally sweet. There are lots of versions of paleo pastry – I typically use almond flour but this time I decided to use coconut flour and arrowroot. Although I used egg in this pastry I have also substitute eggs for apple puree and mashed banana to make it vegan too. To keep it low sugar I use xylitol to sweeten although berries often don’t need any additional sweeteners at all. Chill the pastry before rolling out as this makes it easier to use.
Difficulty – Medium
Time 15 minutes preparation plus chilling time, 30 minutes cooking time
Serves 4-6
What’s good about it?
Cherries’ rich red colour comes from anthocyanins antioxidants found in grapes that inhibit enzymes associated with inflammation, and may help soothe soreness linked to muscle and joint pain. Sour cherries are also known for being useful for promoting sleep as they naturally contain melatonin – our sleep hormone
- Make the pastry. Place the flours in a food processor and whizz in the eggs and coconut oil and blend until the mixture forms a soft dough. If it is too dry add a splash of cold water. Bring the dough together.
- Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4.
- Use two sheets of greaseproof paper and roll out the pastry large enough to fill a pie dish. Line the pie dish with the pastry and trim the edges. Reserve the remainder pastry to make the lattice top.
- Tip the frozen pitted cherries into the pie then roll out the remainder pastry and use a knife to cut long strips of pastry. Place on top of the pie to create a lattice. The dough is normally soft enough to stick on the top but if not you can brush the pastry with a little beaten egg. Brush the lattice with beaten egg as a glaze.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
All cherries are high in pectin’a soluble fibre that helps to prevent heart disease by lowering total and LDL cholesterol. Sour cherries contain 19 times the amount of beta-carotene found in blueberries. A precursor to vitamin A, it helps maintain eyesight and healthy skin.
Pastry
100g coconut flour
100g arrowroot
2 eggs, beaten
60g coconut oil
Filling
2 cups of frozen pitted cherries
A little beaten egg to glaze the pie