Pith pie

[extrapenguin]

I made a bunch of chenpi* (chimpi, for the Japanese speakers out there) on Tuesday. Scraping off a bunch of pith apparently triggers my Waste Not Want Not 1800s Farmwife instincts, so I did not bin the pith, but rather stored it in a bowl. I then made this pie, except instead of apples, I instead tossed the small pith pieces in with the dry ingredients before adding the liquid (for this, orange juice), replaced the cardamom with cinnamon, and decorated the top with discs from a pair of blood oranges. Om nom nom, tastes delicious. I am such a good cook.

(Baking makes the pith's texture and taste sort of blur into the rest of the pie, so I do not have any texture issues, unlike I'd have with e.g. raisins.)

Also, for those in search of herbal tisanes, chenpi + ginger is a nice flavor combo imo. I put a few chunks of each (I freeze sliced up ginger) in a strainer basket and pour boiling water over it.

* For other people for whom citrus season and sunlight season do not coincide, my Chinese friend told me you can steam then dry (e.g. by gently baking) the peels three times. I've previously just dried my peels and received very orange ones; this batch is definitely darker.

Comments

[superborb]

Huh! It didn't get bitter from the pith?

[extrapenguin]

It didn't! Though I did taste test the pith and it wasn't bitter, so if your pith is bitter/you're sensitive to bitter tastes then idk.