Okay, it’s not free of berries or seeds. Or coconut. But, it will work for a LOT of us.

The berries were in the freezer from summer, a welcome burst of sunshine flavor. I used the same crust I made for the Pumpkin Pie I posted the recipe for on Thanksgiving. I’ve taken out the baking soda that was in it originally – I don’t think it adds any real leavening, and I think it interacts with the berries in this recipe to make a little fizz on your tongue. It’s not unpleasant, but my son commented, “Mom, it tastes fermented!”

Only my son would identify a fizzy flavor as fermented. Heh.

Everything-Free Berry Pie

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, preferably soaked and dehydrated (any nut of choice would work, too, if you tolerate them)

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

2 Tbsp coconut oil

Ingredients for the berry filling:

5 cups mixed or single kind of berry – raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries….

a splash of water

30 drops stevia or 2 Tbsp honey (add to taste if you like a sweeter pie)

1/4 cup room temperature water

1 Tbsp gelatin (I like Great Lakes Brand)

Ingredients for the topping:

1 cup pumpkin seeds or other seed or nut of choice

1 Tbsp coconut flour

½ cup coconut flakes

2 Tbsp coconut oil

20 drops stevia

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Whizz all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor until finely chopped and mixed, but stop short of making seed butter. You want a little texture to it.

Press the mixture into a pie pan with the palm of your hand, and bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned at the edges.

Place the seeds or nuts for the topping in a separate pan and place in the oven at the same time to toast.

While the crust and seeds are baking, place the ingredients for the filling except the stevia or honey in a pan with a little water and bring to a simmer. Let cook for 15 or 20 minutes until slightly thickened. Mash any berries that don’t give up their shape to the heat.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup cold water in a bowl to dissolve. Let rest for a few minutes.

When the berry mixture has cooled a bit, but is still warm, mix the dissolved gelatin and water in until completely melted. Add the stevia or honey and mix thoroughly.

Whizz all the ingredients for the topping in a food processor until the consistency of large crumbs.

Pour the berry mixture into the cooled pie crust and spread it evenly to the edges with a spatula. Sprinkle the topping over the top and press lightly to flatten.

Refrigerate thoroughly. The trick with these gelatin thickened fillings and coconut oil based crusts is thorough chilling for a firm texture. If they come to room temperature they’re likely to crumble and ooze. Not a pretty sight. Still tasty though.

I love pie.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Food Sensitivities, Life on Life's Terms, Living with Health Challenges, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.