Catholic Recipe: Michaelmas Pie

INGREDIENTS 12 oz plain flour, sifted

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 oz white vegetable fat or lard

3 oz chilled butter, diced

3 fl oz chilled water

pinch salt

2 lbs cooking apples

2 oz sugar

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

12 oz) blackberries

1 egg, beaten Details Prep Time: N/A Difficulty: ★★★☆ Cost: ★★☆☆ For Ages: 11+ Origin: Ireland show Food Categories (2) Dessert

Pies, Tarts show Feasts (1) Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

This is from the website IrishCultureandCustoms.com. It is an old Irish custom to bake a Michaelmas Pie and hide a ring in it, but there was no recipe to be found. The following recipe uses blackberries and applies which would be plentiful at this time of year.

Backberries is a logical choice as an ingredient. According to old folklore, at Michaelmas, the devil spits on the blackberries (or worse!), so it's considered ill-advised to eat them after September 29th.

If you happen to live where blackberries grow wild, why not take advantage of their abundance at this time of year and gather as many as you can for making crumbles, jam....and Michaelmas Pie!

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.

Prepare the pastry. Place the flour in a large bowl and stir in the cinnamon and salt. Rub in the butter and white fat with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the chilled water. Bring the mixture together using a round bladed knife. Once it has come together, knead for a brief moment and place in a plastic bag in the fridge. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Peel and core the apples. Cut them into large chunks and place them in a saucepan with the sugar, cloves and nutmeg. Cover with a lid and gently cook for 5 minutes, until the apples have softened. Fold in the blackberries and remove the saucepan from the heat. Cool completely.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out two thirds on a lightly floured surface. Line an 8-inch metal pie plate. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Strain the fruit, reserving the juices and spoon the fruit mixture over. Roll out the remaining pastry. Lay the pastry over the fruit. Lift back the edge and brush the base with a little egg and seal the edge. Trim and crimp the pastry edges. Brush the surface with the remaining egg and make a couple of slits in the top. Scatter a little more sugar over the pastry and bake for 35 minutes. Serve hot or cold with ice cream or fresh double (whipping) cream.