October 22, 2022 - In this old new series, we shall endeavour to explore one of the best parts of living in Croatia - the food. We're bringing recipes for everyday and special occasion meals and desserts, which may be traditional or more recent but always delicious. It is only fitting to start with the queen of autumn, the ubiquitous apple pie.

If you don't have your apple tree in Croatia, you will probably know someone who does. The old "eat an apple" when you're craving something sweet is almost like a rule of life, and there's plenty of them to keep your doctor away. Much like zimnica, when the time is right, and the apples are ripe, you know your life will revolve around them for a few days. You'll want to ensure that you have stored the good ones, handed out the ones of acceptable quality, and used whatever was edible from the dodgy batch. Then ignore the good ones until it becomes more urgent to use them up. That's where the Croatian version of apple pie comes in.

Of course, there is more than one recipe, depending on where you go and how old the grandmother is. But the one most people will know and love is the Lazy Pie (Lijena Pita). It owes its name to the fact that you can prepare it with just a few ingredients, a simple technique, and in a short amount of time - perfect, right?

For the crust, you will need the following:

-  400g of flour (all-purpose)

- 180g of sugar (generic white)

- 180g of lard (traditional Slavonian) or butter (unsalted, store-bought, sad)

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 pack (5g) of baking powder

- a dollop (1tbsp) of sour cream (optional, but the old ladies say it makes all the difference)

Filling:

- apples (measured with your heart, 7-10 should be plenty)

- sugar (measured according to how sweet your apples are, 1-2 tbsp per apple)

- cinnamon (optional, definitely measured with your heart)

- ground walnuts (optional, but desirable, a sprinkling of)

Decoration

- icing sugar

How to:

Start by peeling and grating your apples. You will leave them on the side for the juice to drain - for this; you can use a colander, a cheesecloth, or, let's be real, your hands. Drink the juice, and save the apples. 

Next, you will knead your dough for the crust after combining all the ingredients. If you're using butter, we suggest crumbling it with your hands before adding everything else. No such problems if you're using lard, which is another reason it is superior to other fats. Knead into a homogenous ball and divide into two. Roll one out to fit your baking vessel. For the Croatian version, which is usually baked in a rectangular tray, you do not need to cover the sides, but if you want it to be a round pie, that could also work. Transfering your crust into the baking tray might be slightly clumsy since it tends to be soft, but don't worry if it breaks, just patch it up. No one will know.

Once your bottom crust is nice and comfortable in the tray, mix your filling of apples with sugar, cinnamon, and a couple of tablespoons of ground walnuts, whose purpose is to soak up any extra juice and prevent sogginess. Spread evenly on the bottom crust and roll out the other bit of dough to form your top crust. If you're feeling adventurous, you can try cutting out shapes or weaving your top crust, but the most common way is just a sheet in which holes would be poked using a fork. This is done to ensure your pie is free to breathe and let out any extra steam that could accumulate in the middle layer. 

Bake at 180 °C / 356 °F for 30 minutes or until the crust is a fashionable golden brown.

Leave to rest and cool completely before dusting with icing sugar and cutting into squares. Best served on a crisp autumn day, with a cup of coffee and three hours of catching up.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.