Today it's all about apple tart. Actually it's a galette: no pan, free-form dough, oval or round.
I'm a believer. I adhere to the 3-2-1 formula. 3 parts flour (1 1/2 cups); 2 parts butter (2 (TWO) cubes); 1/2 cup ice water. Totally freaks out the butter police but man does it make a great pie crust. Never fails.
I've fallen in love with the Mutsu apple. Tart, sweet, holds its shape. Braeburn's nice but Mutsu has a little something that nestles into that buttery crust and delivers. And they're big. I cradle those green jewels in my elbow and peel them, smelling the beautiful aroma of tart apples as the skin is peeled away. Sometimes (always) I get a whole lot more flesh than I intend to while peeling. I do, therefore, buy a lot of apples.
Roll, pound a little and flatten the dough into a circle on a cookie sheet. Slice apples thinly and lay to rest in a circular pattern. Takes 2-3 apples depending upon your peeling talent. (I usually need 3, thanks.)
Add a little sugar (brown), cinnamon (fresh if you have it), tiny bit of cardomom, some lemon zest and a few more dots of butter (!) Pungent apple slices, sweet brown sugar, spices and buttery crust. What could go wrong?
Fold the crust over galette-style and bake at 350 for 30- 40 minutes (crust needs to be brown, apples tender and sweet.)
Easy as pie. But better.
Galette-style, I'm going to employ this mode in and out of the kitchen. Easy breeazy - this post is poetry. Thanks for the Mutsu tip. BTW Michael Polan's Botany of Desire has aired on PBS as a documentary. The apple chapter is amazingly informative.
ReplyDeleteI love it. Especially the part about holding the apple in your elbow.
ReplyDeleteWould you believe you're the second person raving to me about Mutsu apples today? (The other one has a rescued Mutsu tree in his backyard). I'll have to give them a try... also the very scary crust. Foolproof would definitely be good.
ReplyDelete