- Happy Pi Day -

I think we all know where this is going...

Pi: That magical number that keeps going and going with beautiful, irrational genius. The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, pi's 3.14 beginning lends itself to a day of commemoration on March 14th. It's a day for shrines, love poetry and contests. I really had no choice but to celebrate pi's infinite value with - yes - a pie.

Basic math.

The tradition of baking on this auspicious day is one truly rooted in history, with people going beyond the boundaries of their culinary expertise to try to come up with a worthy pastry. As for me, and as with the use of wonderful pi itself, it never feels right not trusting something as important as this to a classic you know works. I opted for my favourite apple pie, but I did it with a twist: olive oil.

It's not as out there as you'd think and it works pretty damn well, adding a creamy little layer of flavour to an otherwise spunky little pie.

Also, if it helps sweeten an already sweet pot, each of these beautiful slices come out on the happy side of 300 calories. I had a fourth of the pie last night.

It seemed right.

It was for pi.

First thing's first: A great pie needs a fantastic crust, and that's got to be kept in the the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You need to let dough rest and the fat cool and firm up. While you knead, use ice water - and I mean ice - sparingly as you get it to form a ball.

Another thing to keep in mind is you don't want to over knead it. You'll be working the gluten among other things, resulting in a tougher dough. The lighter you are with it, the lighter and flakier your crust will be.

Split it in two, with one ball bigger than the second, wrap them up separately in cling film and stick them in the fridge. You'll end up with pretty, marbled dough.

My favourite part - the filling.

It's so easy and quick. Just chop or slice the apples and toss in all the ingredients. My husband's a chunky pie kind of guy so that's what I did, but slices look so pretty and cook through fast so go with what you like.

This is where you get to the part that gets me excited. That smell is unreal.

When the dough's ready, roll it out and work it into your pie tin.

Here's where you can brush egg wash before adding the filling to keep the crust that little bit crisper. Egg wash comes in a lot of different forms, but I'm usually happy with just an egg whisked with a splash of water.

Let it dry a minute and fill it up with that amazing apple mess. Top it off with the smaller ball of dough in a lattice pattern, as a sheet with a hole in the middle, or whatever else will make you smile like any good pie should.

Egg wash the top, sprinkle it with brown sugar and cinnamon and, if you are so inclined, dot it with a few cubes of butter to make it...well...amazing. Obviously.

(That "happy side of 300 calories" thing kind of gets thrown out the window here, but I'm not going to act like it's not worth it.)

Bake it for 45 minutes at 180-200 C. Every oven is different so you kind of just have to keep an eye on it until you figure out the best temp and time for yours.

Let it cool for 20 minutes and serve.

Damn good day for damn good pie.

Olive Oil Apple Pie

Serves 8

Crust -

2 c flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 c olive oil

5 tbsp milk

• Combine flour with salt and blend the olive oil with milk separately.
• Mix everything together and stir the mixture with a fork until you're left with clumps of dough.
• Work the dough into a ball with your hands, adding a small amount of ice water as needed.
• Split the dough into two balls, wrap them in cling film and keep them in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Filling - 

5-7 Granny Smith apples

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3/4 c unpacked brown sugar, plus more for topping

1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

nutmeg to taste

egg wash for crust

• Preheat the oven to 180-200 C.
• Peel and slice apples and mix with lemon juice.
• Add lemon zest and dry ingredients to apples.
• Roll out dough into the pie tin and mound the apple mixture.
• Cut the remaining dough into strips and lattice over pie.
• Brush the top of the finished pie with egg wash and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.