Vegan Summer Fare-Mixed Fruit Pie

By Linda Lovely

Brie Hooker, the heroine of my soon-to-be-released humorous mystery series, is a vegan chef who lives with her Aunt Eva, a cantankerous carnivore, on a goat dairy farm in South Carolina. 

Every other Friday, I hope you'll tune in for a vegan-friendly recipe that I'm convinced would even win a thumbs-up from skeptical Aunt Eva. 

Summer is an ideal time to try adding some vegan dishes to your repertoire, even if you're a die-hard omnivore That's because there are so many delicious fruits and vegetables that make for beautiful entrees and desserts. Here's a recipe for a fruit pie--only nuts and fruits. No eggs or dairy. Everyone I've served this has loved it.

I first found a version of this recipe here: Get Healthy Marshall Texas

Fruit Pie(Vegan)

The “crust”

1 generous cup pitted dates

Heaping 1/3 cup each: Walnuts, cashews, almonds

1 tsp vanilla extract

The Filling

2-3 ripe bananas, sliced lengthwise

1 cup strawberries pureed

Your combination choice of whole/sliced fresh fruits:

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, mandarin oranges

·       Put all the nuts in the food processor and process till they’re finely chopped, then add dates (I cut them into smaller pieces first) along with vanilla and process to create a sticky goo.

·       Press the crust into a glass pie plate (9-10 inches)

·       For the first filling layer, arrange the bananas slices on the crust and use a fork to smoosh them into a layer.

·       Place sliced strawberries on top of the bananas and pour the pureed strawberries on top.

·       Next arrange all of the whole (or sliced) fruits on the top alternating colors for a pleasing display

·       Cover and refrigerate.

Hints: This is a beautiful (and tasty) summer dessert. The only problem? It doesn’t keep well. Serve this when you expect it to be consumed in one sitting—two at most. I use the roasted cashews rather than raw cashews and I’m generous in measuring my nuts. Too many nuts? Not a possibility.