Baking la Convivencia, Unity in a Pie

Blood orange almond pie by Rachel Medanic

Without thinking about the meaning behind tying 3 things together to make something beautiful, I haphazardly suggested my daughter make braid ornamentation for the pie. Challah was my inspiration and only later did the symbolism of three hit me. Three cultures bearing three religious traditions, coming together in peace and tolerance---Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. That is what this blood orange almond pie is all about.

This is the second time I've baked for a fundraising event called the Pie Supper, benefiting the California Revels. In their upcoming December 2018 production of the Ancient Mysteries of Andalusian Spain, 3 characters (a Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian) go in search of an era back in time called La Convivencia. The pie's ingredients symbolize common dessert ingredients from geographic areas of the Mediterranean where people who observe these 3 religions live. Allegedly, the 15th century was a time when all three cultures lived together in peace on Spain's Iberian peninsula.

So if humanity has done that before, why not also on your tongue with ingredients that also walk the talk (taste the tastes)?

$20 a Slice 
I'm told by friends that the pie-- I called it "ConvivenPie," was the top seller bringing in $160 for the event. Always pleasing- l love baking for what I call "throughput." Let the dollars flow and the food be consumed! (Dessert is my passion in case you haven't tooled around here much).

Inside the rainbow of a blood orange

• The base recipe for the pie is a Shaker orange pie (representing the Christian), but the blood oranges represent the Moors and southern Spain. Somewhere on the internet, I read that the Moors introduced citrus to Spain, so we'll go with that. 
• Thanks to the Silk Road, almonds are now abundant in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy. One of the secret ingredients at the core of this pie is vegan almond cream cheese.
• The pie also includes chopped pistachios --which summon dessert nuances from Iran, Turkey and Syria—representing Muslim influences.
• To bring in the Jewish influence, there is also a hint of rose water in this pie. Rose water is a popular flavoring, especially on Shavuot, in Sephardic Jewish desserts.  
• However, the use of blood oranges remind us never to forget the bloodshed that has happened in the name of religious and other intolerance, as well as hate. 

I came back to add in a link to calligrapher and artist Cari Ferraro's blog post about the Andalusian Revels here.

I've never really been a pie person, except that I have. I had to look back here to remind myself of my adventures with the Pie Extremists, my fundraiser for Pie Ranch in Pescadero, my Mardi Gras twist pie, my George Washington Pie. My previous Pie Supper adventures resulted in an Ada Lovelace Pie (celebrating Ada Lovelace Day).

Wishing everyone unity, peace and neighbors who love and care for each other selflessly. This is a time in California history where we are coming together in tragedy. My weekend was an exercise in stark contrasts-- also filled with those efforts (that may or may not make it to public pixels).

I've now added in ... the recipe!

Blood Orange Almond Pie
inspired by Blood Orange Pie from A Cozy Kitchen

Pie Recipe Ingredients:
2 medium size blood oranges
¼ - ½ teaspoon of zest from 1 Meyer lemon
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Vegetable cooking spray
5 oz Kite Hill vegan almond cream cheese
1-2 teaspoons almond extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cardamom
2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios (unsalted)
Crust:
Your favorite pie crust recipe, or you can easily buy those in a box to save effort.

Steps to Wow!
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.
2. Grate zest from two oranges and 1 small Meyer lemon. 
3. Then slice oranges around the equator thinly with ideal slice width being 1-2 mm wide (use a mandolin or a very sharp knife). Trim off extra pith and peel, de-seed and cut slides in half.
4. Bring sugar, orange slices, zest and 1 cup water to a boil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and summer 1 hour. Remove from heat; cool completely.
5. Beat almond cream cheese, almond extract and ¼ tsp salt together with mixer until smooth. Spread mixture over bottom crust in pie plate. (Be sure to make this the bottom layer, NOT the orange mixture)
6. Whisk together eggs, cornstarch and lemon juice, add 1 tsp cardamom. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pie crust, spreading oranges evenly.
a. Try to space out the oranges even though they are a mess of sticky goo- the bitter pith can sometimes get too thick and end up all on someone’s one bite!)
7. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios into the pie.
8. Put on top pie crust, give it some décor to your creative spirit and be sure to vent the crust.
9. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes with a cookie sheet underneath- it will seep out every time! 
10. Bake 30 minutes more, checking halfway if crust or any crust décor you created are burning; if so, cover with foil. 

11. Cool completely and let set for an hour before eating.