Happy first day of fall!
As I mentioned yesterday, I bought myself a half-bushel of apples form the local orchard so I’d be all stocked up for making apple sauce, pork loin with apples, and various desserts, including one of my favorites: an apple crostata. For someone with little gifts in the pastry and baking department, this rustic dessert is perfect. It’s simple without being boring, a beautiful showcase for the season’s firm-tart apples, and always a family pleaser. I also like crostatas because you can eat them in hand, without a fork or really even a plate. Case in point: Miss Belle. Who after school helps herself by cutting off a wedge and then sitting down with the crostata in one hand, a glass of milk or pencil for homework in the other.
Belle is actually really into apple crostata. Yesterday my mom said that after school she sidled over the the cake stand where the remaining half of a crostata was located and when my mom asked,”Do you want a slice?” she said “No, I’ll just eat the whole thing.” And she did. Maybe I should be concerned by this level of gluttony, but since I made it myself and know that it’s pretty healthful for a dessert, I don’t mind. Eat away, Belle. Eat away.
Recipe for Apple Crostata
1/2 cup almond meal flour (Bob’s Red Mill makes a variety of this that’s available in supermarkets or ONLINE) or whole wheat flour.
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter
1 egg (yolk and white separated)
1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup of ice water
6 firm tart apples (Macoun are great), cored, peeled, cut in slim wedges (not too thin or thick)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
juice of 1/2 lemon
*optional Demerara or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on the crust
-To make the pastry:
