Heritage Apple Crostata

The prevailing wisdom is that the best apple pies are made with a mixture of varieties – those that turn soft to fill in the spaces blended with those that stay firm enough to keep the crust from collapsing on itself. One Belfast shareholder told me that he had read that a pie should have five to seven varieties in it to really shine. Good friend, chef extraordinaire, and longtime shareholder, Deb Soifer, shared this no-frills recipe that allows the flavors of a mix of apples to shine through. Note that this recipe makes enough pastry for two tarts but only enough filling for one. Freeze the extra dough to use another day.

Ingredients:

Pastry for 2 tarts:

  • 2 cups unbleached white flour

  • ¼ cup granulated or superfine sugar

  • ½ tsp kosher salt

  • ½ lb very cold unsalted butter, diced

  • ¼ cup ice water

Filling for 1 tart:

  • 1 ½ lb apples - a mix of firm and tender varieties if you have them

  • ¼ tsp grated orange zest

  • ¼ cup flour

  • ¼ cup or less granulated sugar

  • ¼ tsp kosher salt

  • ¼ tsp cinnamon

  • 1/8 tsp allspice

  • 4 Tbs cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

Pastry:

(Deb says, “if you can make this ahead and freeze it, even overnight, it makes a big difference in how the dough handles and bakes up – it will be as flaky as a croissant”.)

  1. Put dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor (or just a bowl), and pulse or whisk a few times.

  2. Add butter, toss quickly with your fingers, and then pulse 12-15 times, (or cut in with pastry cutter), until butter is the size of peas.

  3. With the motor running, add ¼ cup ice water all at once, and mix just until the dough comes together.

  4. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, and form it into two disks. Wrap each disk in wax paper, and freeze or refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Filling:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

  2. Peel, core, and cut the apples into quarters. Cut each quarter into 3-4 pieces. Toss in a bowl with the orange zest.

  3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the butter and pulse until crumbly.

  4. Roll out one of the discs of the dough into an 11" circle and put it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spread the apples out on the dough to within 1 ½" of the edges. Sprinkle the combined flour, butter and spices over the apples.

  5. Fold the edge of the pastry up over the apples and pleat, leaving most of the filling exposed.

  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Enjoy!