Mock Apple Crumb Pie (made with zucchini)

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Crust

1 pie crust
[Use your favorite or a ready-made crust, but consider trying Stephanie Jaworski’s amazing pâte brisée http://www.joyofbaking.com/PieCrust.html, complete with a video. You can whip it up in the food processor in minutes and it tastes wonderful.]

Filling:

2 or 3 zucchini
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
⅛ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional, but a great idea)

Roll out the pie crust and line the pie plate. Place it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
When the oven is at 400°F, pre-bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes
[To keep the crust from bubbling up while baking, you can use pie weights or just pierce the bottom and sides with a fork.]
.
Peel the zucchini and slice in half or quarters lengthwise. Using the tip of a spoon, remove all seeds. Slice the zucchini into ¼-inch slices crosswise. You should have approximately 6 cups of zucchini slices.
Place the zucchini slices into a large skillet along with the vinegar, citrus juice and salt. Cook over medium heat, tossing frequently until tender-crisp, similar to the texture of a slice of apple
[While cooking the zucchini slices, start with the skillet covered; once the slices reach the desired tenderness, remove the cover to evaporate excess liquid.]
. (Also avoid browning the zucchini.) Remove from heat to cool slightly.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together brown sugar, spices, cream of tartar and flour. Add the cooked zucchini to the dry mixture and stir to combine. A substantial amount of liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the bowl; place a few spoonfuls of it in a cup, dissolve the cornstarch in it, and return to the bowl.
To prepare the topping, place flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse once or twice to combine. Add the chilled butter to the mixture and pulse again repeatedly until the mixture in the bowl resembles wet sand.
Pour zucchini filling into the prepared pie crust. Spread the topping mixture evenly over the top of the filling.
Bake for 30 minutes, then in ten-minute incements until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling thickly at the edges.
Remove pie from the oven and cool on a wire rack for approximately 1 hour to set.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

History:

This recipe started as Martha and Jack’s at https://www.afamilyfeast.com/mock-apple-crumb-pie-made-with-zucchini/. I loved it and baked it repeatedly (so much zucchini…), making minor changes (not quite as sweet, more spices, some techniques that worked better for me), and I’ll probably continue tweaking each time. But the credit goes to Martha and Jack.