TIP: No Kosher-for-Passover pie plate? Use a flat dish and confidently call it a "Pile"

I just returned from our annual family trip to Montreal for Passover. I know it’s not Yom Kippur but I’m thinking of fasting tomorrow to give my body a chance to recuperate/repent from the non-stop food fest of the past few days. I always find it funny how much I end up eating at these holiday gatherings despite my dietary restrictions. My aunts always gets a bit stressed out when I visit. “If she doesn’t eat meat, dairy, eggs, wheat or sugar…what DOES she eat?” The problem is compounded at Passover when legumes and many alternate grains are a “no no.” It’s taken a couple of years but I think we’ve collectively figured it out: extra veggies + lots’a nuts + quinoa = a happy, well(overly)-fed Emily.

I had to take matters into my own hands if I wanted something Emily-friendly at the end of the Seder meal though. Especially since it’s a holiday where sugar and eggs are added to pretty much any dessert to make it taste good. But necessity is the mother of invention! It’s raw, vegan, gluten & sugar-free…you might even call it healthy. Introducing a Raw Apple Pile! This one’s inspired by Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen.

NUT PIE CRUST
2 cups raw nuts, dry (almonds, Brazil nuts &/ hazelnuts are good) plus 1/4-1/3 a cup extra nuts set aside
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups pitted dates/dried apricots/raisins

SYRUP
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 orange, peeled and seeded*
splash of water, as needed
*if you don’t have an orange, about 1/4 – 1/3 cup orange juice should work fine

FILLING
5 cups apples, quartered, seeded, thinly sliced, about 5 or 6 apples
1 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
In a food processor, first grind up the nuts you set aside (the 1/4 – 1/3 cup) until it’s a coarse powder. Spread this around at the bottom of your pie plate so that the crust won’t stick to it later.

Now put the rest of the nuts in the food processor along with the salt and dates. Process until it’s moldable with your hands, and press it into the bottom of the pie plate, all the way to the edge. You can even make the edges a bit wavy for added flare. Since my dish lacked an edge I just made sure the apples didn’t overtake the edge of the crust.

Next, put all the “syrup” ingredients into the food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Add this mixture to the “filling” ingredients together in a bowl and mix it all up.

Finally, pour about half of the apple mixture into the pie crust and then with the remaining apples, using your hands, place them in ‘fan’ formation around the pie. To make the apples soften a bit, let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge. Serve at room temperature.