Apple pie with crispy filo pastry

Home made pies - what can be better?! It reminds me of those weekends in my childhood, when mother baked and the charming smell made me wake up... It is an opportunity to spread pleasant flavor around and enjoy the moment we are in.

Of course, I usually advise to prepare everything on your own. Then you know what you combine in the recipe and you are sure that artificial flavors and ingredients are avoided. But when you are in a rush and have only twenty minutes, you can always choose this magic and easy recipe with Filo pastry.

Filo (from Greek "leaf") is typical type of dough usually used to make baklava. This is product number 1 (after dried dates, of course), that I usually buy in Turkish shops here:) To tell the truth it can be used for sweet pastry, as well as for salty pies or little snacks. 

Ingredients:

filo pastry - about 10 sheets
2 big apples
3 tbsp raisins
Christmas spices (or mix of ground cinnamon, anis, cloves etc.)
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp almond leaves

When working with filo, make sure the surface is clean and dry. The pastry should be kept in the fridge in vacuum package, and if taken out  - should be covered by wet towel and not kept reachable to fresh air. It gets dry very fast and might crack before you prepare the pie :) But no stress. It is not a big deal. You will definitely handle it.

Before putting everything together wash the apples and cut them thin. Pour some lemon juice that will save them from getting darker. Soak raisins in hot water for 15 minutes and drain them well. Take about 6 sheets of dough and put them on the baking paper. Make first layer from apples in the center. Put the raisins and spices on the apples. Make one more layer from apples and spice them.

Melt some butter and oil the ends of the filo sheets and using your hands form some folds around the apple layers as shown below.

The rest of the sheets take together and butter the upper sheet and only ends of the other sheets as possible. Form the top of the pie and put it on the apples. Put almond leaves all over the pie for extra nutty note.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C.

Here you go. Perfect, easy and tasty pie! And the biggest benefit - quickly:)