2064. APPLE-ROQUEFORT-BACON PIE

makes one 12-inch pie


All-Butter Pastry Pie Dough for a 12-inch double-crust pie, chilled
4 ounces thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon, diced
4 to 4 1/2 cups (2 to 2 1/4 pounds) apples
2 tablespoons dark honey, plus extra for drizzling on the top crust
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Roquefort cheese

Preheat the oven to 450?F.

In a big skillet over medium heat, sauté the bacon until it?s crispy. Drain the bacon on a paper towel and leave about 3 tablespoons worth of the fat in the pan. Peel, core, and slice the apples 1/4 inch thick. In the same skillet, sauté the apples in the bacon fat over low heat, until the outer layer of apple softens a bit. Add the honey, flour, lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir. Remove from the heat and add the bacon back. Allow the mixture to cool down.

Roll out the pastry and line a 12-inch pie plate with the bottom crust. Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust.

Scrape the filling into the bottom crust. Crumble the Roquefort on top and cover it with the second crust. Trim and crimp the crust; chill the pie for 10 minutes in the freezer. Cut vent slits in the top crust and drizzle the top with honey. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is blistered and blonde. Turn down the temperature to 350° and bake for at least 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden brown and visible juices are thickened and bubble slowly through slits in top crust. Be patient, it could take up to an hour. Test apples for doneness by poking a wooden skewer down through the open vent slits of the top crust. Apples inside should yield to the skewer with slight resistance?cooked through but not mushy. Cool the pie before cutting. Serve it warm or at room temperature.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Bubby's Homemade Pies by Ronald M. Silver and Jen Bervin. Wiley 2007.