APPLE-PEAR PIE WITH WALNUT CRUST

Apple-Pear Pie with Walnut Crust image

Finely chopped walnuts replace some of the flour in the crust of this apple-pear pie. Extra-wide strips of pastry give the traditional lattice top a modern twist.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes

Time 4h

Yield Makes one 9-inch pie

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 1/2 ounces walnuts, toasted and chopped (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
5 to 6 Granny Smith apples
3 firm-ripe Bosc pears
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 5 teaspoons)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Fine sanding sugar

Steps:

Crust: Pulse flour, walnuts, granulated sugar, and salt in a food processor until walnuts are finely chopped. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Drizzle pi cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture comes together when pressed in your hand (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
Lay out 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Empty half the dough onto each piece. Bring edges of wrap together to gather dough. Press into disks. Roll out disks, still wrapped in plastic, to 1/2-inch-thick rounds (8 inches in diameter). Refrigerate at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before rolling.
Roll out 1 disk of dough into a 12-inch round (a generous 1/8-inch thickness) on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, and trim edge, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll out remaining disk of dough to a generous 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate, along with dough in pie plate, until firm, about 1 hour.
Filling: Peel and core apples, and cut into eighths (you should have about 7 cups). Peel and core pears, and cut into eighths (you should have about 5 cups). Toss apple and pear slices with salt, granulated sugar, vanilla seeds, and lemon juice. Melt butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add fruit mixture, and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until fruit is softened, about 5 minutes more. Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; let filling cool completely.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in lower third of oven. Cut dough on baking sheet into 3-inch-wide strips. Pour filling into dough-lined pie plate, and brush edge of dough with some egg wash. Weave dough strips into a lattice over filling, and press overhang onto edge of crust. Trim edge, fold under, and crimp as desired. Brush top of pie with more egg wash, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling through lattice, about 1 hour. Let cool completely on a wire rack.