notes from my food diary

One of the signs that fall is finally here is apples. Lots of them. My husband brought some apples that he picked himself at one of his customer’s house for 2 days in a row. They’re gorgeous alright but I was a little bit overwhelmed by the abundance of apples in my house! But I do believe in cooking or baking with seasonal fruits or ingredients, so this is one of my tricks in turning apples into something delicious, the so-called French Apple Tart. I have a feeling I’ll be doing more postings on apples again

Start with a pie dough, either your recipe or the recipe that I used down below. I happened to use this recipe because it’s in the book along with the tart recipe. There’re some ways to make pie dough, whether it be by hand, mixer, or food processor, it’s really your call. To simplify things, I only post the hand method.

The filling is likened to chunky applesauce, a great idea to use more apples! On top of the filling were slices of paper thin apples in concentric design.

Plan to do nothing for at least half a day because you’ll be spending your time in kitchen quite a bit. But the result is well worth the effort…

Flaky Pie Dough
Makes enough dough for four 9-to 10-inch tarts or open-faced pies or 2-double-crusted pies

5 1/4 cups pastry or all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 3/4 cups (11 ounces) solid vegetable shortening, chilled
1 cup ice water

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter, using a pastry blender (or your fingers, if you prefer), cut it into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Be patient—-this takes a while. Break up the shortening and add it in bits to the bowl. Still working with the pastry blender (or your fingers), cut int the shortening until the mixture has small clumps and curds. Switch to a wooden spoon and add the ice water, stirring to incorporate it. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and fold it over on itself a few times—-don’t get carried away. The dough will be soft, but it will firm up sufficiently in the refrigerator.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for as long as 5 days. When the dough is thoroughly chilled and firm, it is ready to roll out and use in any recipe calling for flaky pie crust.

French Apple Tart
Makes 8 to 10 servings

1/4 recipe of Flaky Pie Dough, well chilled

6 Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh, fluffy bread crumbs
2 teaspoons (approximately) fresh lemon juice

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thcick and fit it into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press a little of the overhang against the edge of the pan so that it produces a small ledge protruding over the inside of the pan. The best way to do this is to press the index finger of one hand against the dough running up the side of the pan and use the thumb of the other hand to form the inner ledge by pressing the overhanging dough against the rim of the pan and the top of your inside finger. The ledge will be about 1/2 inch wide. Press it against the edge of the pan to cut off the excess dough. Now, working with your thumb perpendicular to the bottom of the pan, press against the ledge you’ve created so that some of the the ledge’s dough is pressed down against the side of the pan and the rest of it is lifted up above the rim of the pan. Use the back of a knife to decorate the edge by pressing it diagonally at each flute or at 1/2-inch intervals around the tart.

Chill the crust for at least 30 minutes.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Fit a piece of parchment paper or foil into the tart shell and fill with pie weights, rice, or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 mintes, until golden brown. Transfer the crust, with the paper and weights, to a cooling rack and let cool while you make the filling. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degree F.

Making the filling by peeling and coring the apples. Cut each one in half, and cut each half into 12 pieces. Put the apples in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and bread crumbs. Add just a squeeze of lemon juice to start—-you’ll be able to adjust the flavor later. Spread the apples on a jelly-roll pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples give up their juices, start to form a sauce, and soft enough to mash. Scrape the apples into a bowl and mash with a potato masher or a heavy spoon. Don’t be overzealous—-a few lumps and bumps will add interest to the filling. Taste and add more lemon juice if you think it needs it, then cool the filling for about 15 minutes.

Spoon the puree into the cooled tart shell and smooth the top with an offset spatula. The filling should come to just below the rim you’ve created. (If you have too much, you can serve the extra as a simple dessert topped with whipped cream).

The Topping
2 to 3 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

If you have turned off the oven, reset to 375 degree F.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples (cutting from end to end), then cut them into slices that are between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. As you work, toss the slices with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Save the smaller pieces from the ends of the apples—they’ll make good packing and “even-outers.”

Working slowly and carefully and starting at the edge, arrange the apples in a circle on the puree. The slices should overlap and the points should just touch the shell. Since these will shrink, make a well-packed circle. Lay on another circle overlapping the first by just about 1/8 inch, tucking a few small pieces under to level it and trimming the slices as necessary so that they fit. You’ll probably have enough room for two circles and a center rosette. For the rosette, choose a large, thin slice of apples, cut it into a round, and place it, propped up slightly, in the center of the tart. Or, if you apples were small and the opening in the center is too large to be covered by one slice of apple, arrange as many slices as needed to create an attractive rosette.

With a light hand, evenly brush the apple slices with the melted butter (use a feather brush if you have one) and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Put the tart on a parchment-or foil-lined jelly-roll pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is beautifully glazed and the apple slices are edged in black, a stunning effect. Check that the apples are baked through by piercing a coulpe with the tip of a sharp knife. If the apples aren’t baked but the tart is very brown, cover the tart with a foil tent and bake a few minutes longer. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack. Just before serving, remove the tart from the pan and dust its edges with confectioners’ sugar.

This tart is at its prime ever so slightly warm or at room temperature. You can cover any leftover tart tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it, but don’t expect it to retain its just-baked grace.

Source: Baking with Julia by Dorrie Greenspan