Apricot & Walnut Pie – Botlikh Pie

I discovered this lovely Apricot & Walnut Pie – Botlikh Pie while checking videos and recipes. The Botlikh people of Dagestan, which is part of the Russian Federation, originated it.

The pie has three layers of pastry, with one layer of roughly ground walnuts and another layer of pureed soft dried apricots in between. The pastry, is made with natural yoghurt added, which keeps it nice and tender and also rises during baking. This creates approximately equal thickness for all five layers in the pie – pastry, walnuts, and apricots.

You might wonder if the middle layer of pastry will bake fully, but I can confirm that indeed it does.

Recipe

The recipe is quite simple, involving just a few distinct stages. First, grind the walnuts with some sugar. Then, process the apricots in the same way with sugar until they form a thick paste or puree. Set the walnuts and apricots aside while making the pastry.

After chilling the pastry, divide it into three portions. One portion, about 40% of the total, is rolled out to line a 9-inch/23cm pie dish or tart pan. Spread the walnuts over the base and level them off. Roll out another portion of pastry and place it over the walnuts, sealing it to the side of the lower pastry level. Next, spread the apricot puree over it and level it off before topping it with the final layer of pastry. Seal it around the edge and brush some egg yolk on top. Sprinkle ground walnuts over the pie as well.

Bake the pie at 180C/160C Fan/350F for about 35 minutes. Once it has cooled for a short while in the pan, transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Pie

The pie was actually simple to make. It didn’t take too much time either. I baked mine for about 37 minutes, but 35 would have been fine too.

The kitchen filled with a wonderful aroma as the pie baked. I took it out of the oven and left it in the pan for about 15 minutes. ThenI put it on wire rack to cool.

The pie cut very well too. Then I had a taste, which was simply wonderful. The texture was so good, with the tender pastry and the sweet and tangy fruitiness from the apricots. The walnuts added that extra nuttiness and a slight crunch too.

I enjoyed the sliced pie just as it was. Bit I also enjoyed it with some whipped cream as well. So perfect for snacking or as a dessert.

Another great pie recipe is Perfect Strawberry Pie – Easy Recipe.

Apricot & Walnut Pie – Botlikh Pie

Recipe by Botlikh PeopleCourse: Desserts, Pies, TartsCuisine: BotlikhDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Ingredients

• Pastry

• 350g(2 1/3 cups, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup) plain flour

• 4g(1 tsp) baking soda

• 70g(5 tbsp_2 tsp) caster sugar

• 100g(7 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 100g(7 tbsp) natural yoghurt, or sour cream

• 1 medium egg(large in USA)

• pinch of salt

• Fillings

• 200g(1 1/2 cups) soft dried apricots

• 150g(1 1/2 cups) whole walnuts(walnut pieces is fine too)

• 100g(1/2 cup) caster sugar, divided into two equal portions

• 1 egg yolk for brushing on top

Directions

• Place the yoghurt and baking soda into a large bowl, and whisk together.
• Add the sugar, egg, melted butter and salt and whisk to combine.
• Add the flour, in two additions and mix to combine, using your hands to form into a soft dough.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about 20 minutes.
• Place the walnuts and 50g of sugar into a processor and pulse it until the walnuts are ground quite finely but still a little gritty. Set aside.
• Put the apricots and remaining sugar into the processor and blitz until they are ground down into a thick paste or puree. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
• Grease a 9 inch/23cm pie dish or tart pan and line the base with parchment paper.
• Divide the pastry dough into 3 pieces, one of 40%(about 270g) and two of 30%(about 200g).
• Flour the work surface and the larger piece of dough and roll it out to a diameter large enough to line the tart pan, sides and base.
• Place the dough into the pan and press against the sides, patching in any places necessary.
• Pour in the walnut mixture(holding back about 2 tbsp) and spread it evenly over the base. Then set the pan aside.
• Roll out the second piece of pastry dough to a diameter of about 9 inches/23cm and lay it over the walnuts, pressing the edges to the side of bottom pastry layer.
• Cover the pastry with the apricot mixture and spread it evenly. Set the pan aside.
• Roll out the final piece of pastry dough and lay that over the apricot mixture and press against the side, crimping it all the way round.
• Brush the top of the pie with egg yolk.
• Make a small slit or two in the centre of the top layer of pastry.
• Sprinkle the retained walnut mixture over the top.
• Bake the pie for 35 to 40 minutes, until it has risen and turned a lovely golden brown colour.
• Remove the pie from the oven and leave it in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.