Apple crostata
Of all the delicious recipes we keep stuffed between pages of cookbooks, some manage to pop up over and over.
I recently made Ina Garten’s apple crostata based on my love of baked apples, cinnamon, allspice and strudel. My boyfriend instantly ate 50 percent of it and requested another, por favor.
So we had some friends over for dinner Sunday night and I cooked the crostata for dessert. Sadly, boyfriend only got one piece and is now asking for another one. Pronto!
This rustic tart is always a crowd-pleaser, makes your kitchen smell amazing and will be one of those go-to recipes that never stay folded away for long.
For the pastry, blend 1 c. flour, 2 T sugar and .25 tsp salt in a food processor, adding 1 stick of cold cubed unsalted butter until it forms beads. Drizzle in a couple tsp. cold water until the dough forms a clumpy mess.
Pour it onto a floured surface, pat into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hr.
After that time, roll it out to 11 inches, and place on a baking sheet.
Cut 3 apples into small chunks and mix with 1 tsp. orange zest. Pour into the center of the dough.
For the strudel, process .25 c. flour, .25 c. sugar, .25 tsp. salt, .25 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp. ground allspice. Add half a stick of diced unsalted butter until it forms beads. Mush it a little with your hands to form larger clumps and pour it over the apples.
Fold the crust up over the apples to create the tart shell. Bake at 450 degrees until the crust is golden and the apples are tender.
Try to have just one piece...
Serve warm or at room temperature. I find it’s best with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. My mom likes to make it for her Bridge parties.
Seasoned to Taste 