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APPLE AND KNOTWEED PIE
From SHOOTS AND GREENS
OF EARLY SPRING
in Northeastern North America

Japanese knotweed’s sour flavor complements all sweet fruits, and it does a great job in this nontraditional apple pie, with an unusual herb-flavored crust, and a filling sweetened with the herb stevia instead of sugar or honey.

Crust

2 cups buckwheat flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried spearmint, ground
1 tsp. coriander, ground
¼ cup almond oil, or as needed
½ cup apple juice, or as needed

Filling

2¼ cups tart apples, sliced
1?4 cup Japanese knotweed shoots, sliced
½ cup apple juice
1 tsp. liquid stevia
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. powdered ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg, ground
¼ tsp. cloves, ground
½ cup sunflower seeds
1?4 cup each black walnuts and English (commercial) walnuts, or 1?2 cup English walnuts
3 tbs. tapioca

1. Chill all crust ingredients.

2. Mix the flour with the seasonings.

3. Cut in the oil. Mix until you have the consistency of wet sand.

4. Slowly mix in the cold apple juice until you have a dough that's elastic and pliable, but not mushy, and knead.

5. Press this into an oiled 9 inch pie pan. Save the excess dough to use on top of the filling.

6. Mix all filling ingredients together.

7. Prick holes in the crust with a fork, then fill it with the filling.

8. Place the excess dough on top, lattice style.

9. Bake in a preheated 425ºF oven 10 minutes, checking that the crust doesn't burn.

10. Reduce the heat to 350ºF, turn the pie pan to distribute the heat more evenly, and bake another 30 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the filling is bubbly.

Makes 1 pie; serves 6

Preparation time: 40

Baking time: 40 minutes
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