ABC's of Paleo: "C" is for Cherries (Cherry Pie with Crumble Topping)

It's our third week in the series "ABC's of Paleo." Here's a recap of ingredients and what has been made so far.

Week 1 - A is for Artichoke - Roasted Artichokes with Creamy Lemon-Garlic-Dijon Dip
Week 2 - B is for Bison - Bacon-Bison Chili

This week, our ingredient is Cherries. We have a couple of cherry trees in our backyard, which prompted my ingredient selection for this week. About a month ago, one of our trees was teeming with bright, red cherries. Unfortunately, the birds got the best of our second tree. We do put nets over the trees, but didn't do a great job with the second tree. We actually had a bird get stuck into the net of the first tree (which was pretty secure). I spent over 30 minutes trying to get the bird out, because I didn't want him to eat all my ripe cherries! We ended up with quite the yield from just one tree. After picking my basket of cherries, I rinsed and pitted them. Once dry, I froze them in a single layer on a baking sheet and then put them all in a Ziploc bag for later use.

Cherries are a delicious fruit. I won't get too into the scientific side, but it is worth mentioning that they have a number of antioxidants and have an anti-inflammatory effect. I do enjoy eating the frozen cherries right out of the bag. They're a tasty summertime treat.

Paleo Cherry Pie with Crumble Topping

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 5 cups pitted sour cherries, fresh or frozen
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 2 heaping T. tapioca or arrowroot
• ½ t. vanilla extract
• ¼ t. almond extract

Crust:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2/3 cup pecans
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 3-4 T. local honey
• 6 T. cold grass-fed butter, cut into small pieces

Crumble Topping:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 4 T. melted grass-fed butter
• ¼ t. almond extract (optional)

Directions:

1. Move oven rack to lower third of the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

To make the filling:

Mix together all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside while you make the crust and crumble.

To make the crust:

1. Blend almond flour, pecans and sea salt for 10-20 seconds in a food processor.
2. Add honey and butter.
3. Process until the dough comes together into a ball.
4. Press into a pie dish.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is golden.

 To make the crumble:

1. While the crust is baking, add all dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Blend with a spatula or spoon.
2. Add melted butter and almond extract (if using). Stir until well-combined.

To assemble the pie:

1. Pour cherry mixture into your pre-baked pie crust.
2. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the entire pie.
3. Place pie dish on a parchment paper-lined baking pan to prevent any spillage in the oven. Trust me, burnt cherry pie filling is not something you want on the bottom of your oven.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
5. Bake pie for 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes to ensure crust isn’t too dark. If crust is darkening too much, then wrap aluminum foil around the edges of the pie dish.
6. Let the pie cool completely until cutting into it. The pie will be runny if you cut into it too soon. I think the pie tastes even better after it has been refrigerated. It will help thicken the filling.

I also made homemade vanilla ice cream, which tastes great alongside a piece of this pie. My ice cream contains only 3 ingredients: coconut milk, vanilla bean/vanilla extract and honey. 

Bon appetit! 

We'll be taking a break next weekend due to other scheduled events, but will continue with letter "D" on Sunday, September 1st. What "D" ingredient would you like to see? Duck, dates, daikon radish and dandelion greens are all possibilities.