Apple Crumb Pie with Olive Oil Crust (and Crumb!) by Jessie Sheehan

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To make the crust, whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, water and vinegar and whisk again.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate and using your fingers, evenly press it over the bottom of the plate and up the sides.

To make the crumble, whisk the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the oil and stir to combine with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula – or better yet, use your fingers, pinching the crumble together to form clumps. Place in the freezer while you prepare the apples.

To make the filling, place the sugar, cinnamon, salt, and arrowroot powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Peel and core the apples and slice them quite thin, about 1/4 inch thick. Place them in the large bowl, tossing them in the sugar mixture to cover.

Transfer the filling to the prepared crust. The apples should be piled in a heap so that they just stick out over the edge of the crust – they will shrink as they bake. Crumble the topping over the apples – you may not end up using all of it – in which case freeze it for a rainy day (ie: the next time you’re craving a berry crisp for one . . .). It’s helpful if you leave a little space between crumbles, so the apples peak through and you can check that they are bubbling when it is time to pull the pie.

Place the pie in the preheated oven and bake for about 75 minutes, rotating the pie at the halfway point and checking on the pie after about an hour. A paring knife should easily slide into an apple and ideally you will see the juices bubbling through the crumb. If the crumb takes on too much color while the pie bakes, cover it in aluminum foil at the halfway point.

Let the pie cool until only the center bottom of the plate is warm, two to four hours. Slice and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.