Strawberry upside down pie..Photo how to

Today is delivery day and I have made some pies this morning, a gluten free veggie pie with cheese (carrots, parsnips, leeks, potatoes, onions topped with sliced zucchini, tomatoes and cheese ); a vegetable pot pie with mushrooms and coconut milk..the prep was in a previous blog; and some fantastic, fresh strawberry-apple, caramel, walnut upside down pies...a new idea to me but the results look fabulous..make a simple caramel with unsalted butter, dark brown sugar and a pinch of sea salt ( the amounts are 4ozs butter to 1 cup tightly packed brown sugar)..heat slowly in a thick bottomed pan,then bring to rapid simmer..you are making caramel not toffee, so don't cook too long, it should be bubbly and thick, Then add 8ozs ( 1 cup) broken walnut pieces..don't use chopped or they will be lost and might burn under the crust.
Remove from heat and pour into bottom of pie pan and allow to cool..it will set up as toffee, or  have a thick skin on top before applying the raw crust

Then make the pie as usual, but make 2  small holes in the bottom crust ( remember this will be the top of the pie), also make holes in the top of the pie which eventually will be the bottom..lol
egg or milk wash

bake on a lined cookie sheet ( it will spill over) 375f for 40-60 mins. in middle of oven,until golden brown

To serve it should either be allowed to cool..then inverted onto a plate or.. reheated from cold..375 for 15-20 mins; then inverted and sliced.
Use a good quality pastry, in mine the fat ratio was was 50% vegan shortening and 50% unsalted butter, what you put in always makes a difference...also this is a recipe that can not be done in a hurry...like all good things it is time consuming.

the butter and sugar on high simmer

the walnut caramel in pan

Fresh strawberry and Granny Smith apples ( cooked in butter)

Vegetable-mushroom pot pie

Gluten free vegetable pie

The sprout sour dough bread

low fat, high fiber, also contains flax meal

the completed Strawberry-apple caramel, walnut  pie

you can just see a bit of the caramel poking out under the crust

You can add extra calories (& love) by adding a block of cream cheese to the fruit filling....mmmmmm

The kitchen smells of baked strawberries...so comforting.
 Have a great week and I will be back blogging on Wednesday, John