Granny Smith Apple Tart

An unusually tasty tart shell, based on a recipe thay may have originated with James Beard. The choice of apple is crucial; crunchy and tart is the goal.

For the shell:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup frozen butter in 1-tbs. pieces
3 tbs. sugar
3 hard-cooked egg yolks
1 egg
grated peel of one lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. water (if needed)

Use zesting tool or a potato peeler to remove the thinnest possible layer of lemon peel. Combine the zest with sugar in food processor. Using the steel blade, blast away for one minute until the sugar-peel mixture turns to a fine slurry, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the flour and salt and blast away again for 10 or 15 seconds to distribute everything evenly. Scrape down the bowl.

With the blade running, drop in the three egg yolks and the frozen butter. This should give things a coarse, crumbly cornmeal texture. Add the egg and pulse until the mixture holds together in a large ball. (Add water sparingly and only if necessary. Most often, the egg will provide sufficient moisture.) Form the dough into a ball, then squish it down into a six-inch disk. Wrap well and refrigerate for an hour or so until the disk is firm but still pliable.

For the filling:

6 Granny Smith apples
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Combine all ingredients except apples in a small bowl. Mix well, eliminate lumps and set aside. Core and peel apples and cut in half lengthwise. (Use any firm, tart apples if Granny Smiths are not available.) Either julienne the apples or cut them into half-moon slices. (Half-moon slices were original; julienne pieces are now preferred.) In a large bowl, toss apple pieces with sugar/cinnamon mixture and massage everything so that all pieces are coated. Set aside while you roll out the crust. (The salt will draw moisture out of the apples and create a small amount of apple/brown-sugar juice.)

Take out the refrigerated dough disk. Roll out the dough and fit it into as large an ungreased fluted tart pan as you can manage, about 10 inches. A pan with removable bottom helps a lot.

Arrange slices in neat overlapping layers or spread pieces evenly in the tart shell and pour any accumulated juice over all. (Arranging the apples is a particularly sticky and flavorful step, perfect for involving any little kids who want to help.)

Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for another 45 minutes or so, watching the tart carefully for the last 10 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees about halfway through baking to produce even browning. Cool long enough so that the juices thicken.

Serve warm with grated or slivered extra-sharp cheddar cheese.

The Rhubarb Alternative

For the filling:

3 eggs
2 tbs. flour
grated rind of one orange
2 tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb

Prepare the shell as above through the refrigerated disk step. Preheat oven to 450°F (425°F if it’s a convection oven).

Combine everything but the rhubarb in a large bowl and stir well. An earlier version of this recipe called for 1 tsp. orange rind, 1 tbs. orange juice, and two eggs. That works, but the third egg allows for more rind and juice, which the rhubarb appreciates.

The recipe works with rhubarb cut in half-inch chunks, although that is better suited to a deep-dish, two-crust pie. For the tart, running the rhubarb through a Cuisinart with, say, a 2mm slicing disk works better. It solves the rhubarb’s persistent problem with stringiness.

Add rhubarb to the mixture in the bowl and stir well to coat everything. The amount of rhubarb can vary between three and four cups.

Take out the refrigerated dough disk. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 10-inch ungreased fluted tart pan. Scoop the rhubarb into the tart shell and distibute evenly. Then pour the liquid over all.

Bake at 450°F (425°F for a convection oven) for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F (325°F for convection oven) and bake for another 40 minutes or so, watching the tart carefully for the last 10 minutes.

Serve warm. Rhubarb’s natural astringency pairs nicely with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream if you have it.