Green Mango Pie #16

I feel like one lucky girl.
This weekend was my birthday and early Sunday morning my husband snuck out of bed and, ever so quietly, baked me a mango pie while I slept.I've come across mango pie recipes several times but, without even looking at the ingredients, I've passed them up because, while I LOVE mangoes, the thought of a mango pie has never sat well with me.

Well, I'm here to tell you, I TAKE IT ALL BACK!!
In fact, I can't believe I almost missed this experiment!
Mango pie rocks!
(And I mean every exclamation point!)

Ryan, who doesn't even like mangoes, will confirm that this is a great pie. The two of us finished it in under...oh 36 hours...oops? We just couldn't get enough of it. I tell you it's delicious and not just because I'm trying to talk up my husband or something (though I will say that since he really knocked it out the park on this, his first pie, I'm starting to think he might be the true pie maker in the family).

Any way, now that I've gone on and on, let me try to explain it's goodness. This pie is like an apple-peach hybrid in texture but the mango, lime, and cinnamon make a magical little mixture. It's not as exotic as I was expecting, but it tasted like a cheeky upgrade on a traditional taste. And who doesn't like cheeky?Also, this crust is ah-maz-ing. One of the best all around crusts that we've had. It had a great flakiness to it, the bottom crust was perfect (which is always hard to do) and the flavor was outstanding. I will make the whole pie again (or better said, I will make this pie and copy my husband), but I am definitely going test this crust out on other pies.

One thing to note: the mangoes ripen as they are cooked which is why you want to use green mangoes. One of the mangoes used was somewhat ripe and every once in a while you could see some extra mango fibers when you cut into the pie. It didn't interrupt the taste or texture (that I could tell), but I would expect that if you used 5 cups of ripe mangoes, you would end up with a big stringy pie, which sounds pretty gross to me no matter the flavor or the awesomeness of the crust.

Green Mango Pie
(Though there are many similar recipes out there, the recipe he used is based off of Hungry Sofia's recipe)

For the filling:
3-4 unripe, mostly green medium mangoes (about 5 cups), peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of lime juice
*The amount of sugar can be adjusted depending on the mangoes ripeness.
For the double crust:
2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
4-5 tablespoons of ice water

Egg whites and sugar for dusting.

DIRECTIONS
The Crust: Cube the butter and keep it cold until needed.
Measure out the water and keep cold until needed.

Mix together all dry ingredients and add butter. Cut the butter into the flour until it flakes into pea-size pieces. Add ice water and mix with a fork to cover the flour pieces in water.

Gather the dough with hands until combined (add more water if needed). Divide dough into two separate disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, add zest and lime juice to the sliced mangoes. Combine the dry filling ingredients and add to the mangoes. Roll out single dough to about 1/8″ thick and place in pie pan leaving the edges long. Scoop the filling in center of pie but do not pour in all the liquid.
Roll out the second dough and place on top of the pie. Trim edges and crimp to design. Using a sharp knife, cut tiny vents in the top of the pie.Brush with egg whites and sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, rotating once at the halfway point.

Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue to bake 30 minutes more till golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.