Tag Archives: apples

Flaky Pie Crust: Apple & Lemon Galette

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A flaky pie crust is delicious and perfect for sweet as well as savory pies and tarts. I use it mostly when making a free form galette like here below, but you can also bake it in a pie pan as a tart decorated with lattice, or like a classic covered pie.

And it’s a piece of cake to make it yourself. You just need to follow a few simple rules. To achieve a flaky rising crust use cold ingredients and at the same time develop just enough gluten for the dough to hold together. As the gluten is formed (from the protein in flour) when you are working the dough it’s important not to overwork it, as it will just result in a tough crust (which is better suited for something else). Keeping the fat (butter or lard) as visible solid pieces will magically create rising flaky layers when baked.

If you are only making a small tart like my recipe here, you can easily do it by hand or with a simple dough scraper as shown in my illustration below. If doing it with your bare hands, just make sure to rub the butter and flour lightly and quickly to avoid melting the butter with your warm fingertips. I recommend using a food processor if you are planning to make several batches at the same time, just make sure to pulse gently so you don’t overheat or cut the butter too much.

As it’s apple season I suggest to make a galette and fill it with apple slices that are cooked in butter, brown sugar, and lemon juice. But you can fill with many other seasonal things all year around; pears, peaches, strawberries, or rhubarb. And by leaving out the sugar in the dough, it can be used for savory tarts too. My favorite is a combination of sauteed mushrooms, roasted butternut squash,  fresh tomatoes, and goat cheese.

I think this apple & lemon galette is a fantastic dessert for any Thanksgiving table. Serve it slightly warm with vanilla ice cream or heavy whipped cream. Happy Thanksgiving!

Please note that you will need to double the pie crust recipe if making a covered classic pie or a lattice decorated pie. Adjust measures and baking time accordingly.

Flaky Pie Crust for Apple & Lemon Galette
serves 6 to 8

flaky pie crust
1 ¼ cups (6.25 ounces, 180 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (4 oz, 113 g) cold unsalted butter, cut in chunks
1 tablespoon sugar (leave out if making a savory pie)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1/3  cup ice cold water

filling
4 to 5 (about 1.5 oz, 700 g) crisp apples
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons (2 oz, 57 g) unsalted butter
juice of ½ lemon, about 3 tablespoons

a few handfuls of unsweetened coconut shreds

To prepare the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt directly on a flat surface. Add the butter on top. With a dough scraper (see diagram) chop the butter into roughly bean-size pieces. At the same time, toss the butter around to make sure it gets well coated with the dry ingredients. Add the ice water a little at a time and work the dough quickly until you can form a rough ball without any dry flour, beautifully marbled with visible “lumps” of butter. If needed add more ice water, one tablespoon at the time. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap it with parchment paper and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to a few days.

To prepare the filling: Peel and core the apples. Slice them thinly, approximately ¼ inch (about 6 mm) thick. In a saucepan melt the butter together with the sugar, stir occasionally. When the butter is melted add the apples followed by the lemon juice. Stir the apples to make sure they get evenly coated with the butter sauce. Cook on medium heat, until apples are slightly soft, stir occasionally. Strain the apples, but reserve the buttery liquid as it will be used as a glaze for the apples. Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper or silicone mat.

To roll out the dough, place the dough on a flat surface and dust lightly will all-purpose flour. If the dough is very stiff, you can soften it first by patting the dough with the rolling pin. This will make the dough softer and easier to roll. Roll the dough from the center and out, while continually turning the dough quarterly, to roughly 12 to 13 inch (30 to 36 cm) diameter. If the dough sticks to the surface, dust the surface lightly with more flour. If your kitchen is very warm you will need to pop the dough into your freezer for about five minute. This will prevent the butter from melting.

 

Dust off any loose flour on the rolled-out dough and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle over the coconut shreds, leaving about 2 inch (almost 6 cm) border all around the edge. Arrange the apples on top. Fold the edges over and pinch overlapping dough together (see diagram).

Bake on the middle rack until crust is golden brown and fruit is baked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Last 10 minutes, brush fruit with the apple butter sauce.

Serve warm with heavy whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

*

related links

Puff pastry
illustrated kokblog recipe

Summer Fruit Galette
by David Lebovitz

10 Galettes That Are Easier Than, Well, Pie
Bon Appétit

Ginger & Lime Tart
illustrated kokblog recipe

Caramelized Apple Tart
illustrated kokblog recipe

more Thanksgiving ideas…

Duck Liver Starter
a good use of the liver when cooking a whole bird
(kokblog recipe)

Tired of dry Turkey? Try my
Duck in Port (kokblog recipe)

An Alternative Menu for Thanksgiving
with Anna Brones

Autumn Foraging: Apples

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In my neighbor’s garden there is an old apple tree. The tree and the garden is in need of care. It always hurts my heart when I see fruit of any kind fall to the ground before anyone even thinks of taking care of them. As nobody actually lives next door I think its ok to pick them. So I went over there to have a look. The apples didn’t look that great and they would probably be terrible in most things, I thought. I took a bite and smiled. It was a crisp bite and the taste was sweet and sour at the same time. This abandoned tree was in fact a Granny Smith or at least something very close to it. Granny Smith may not be my absolute favorite but an apple like this is excellent in an apple tart or a nutty manchego salad.

Apples in general are very useful in cooking, for both savory or sweet dishes. A chicken for example is really flavorful when roasted whole filled with apples and prunes. Different kinds of preserves such as apple compote, apple butter and apple chutney are fantastic treats that can be served with many different things, such as a sweet flavor in oatmeal, as a side to meat or together with cheese on bread. While growing up I remember having only apple compote with cold milk as an afternoon snack.

Then there are endless amazing cakes and pies that can be baked with apples. There is of course always the classic Tarte Tartine that was created by two sisters after a successful accident in the kitchen. A more unusual apple pie is the south Swedish version (Skånsk Äpplekaka) that is made with rye bread crumbs. It may sound strange but its absolutely delicious served with vanilla sauce.

If you have a lots of apples you should really consider making your own apple juice or cider. If my neighbor’s tree would give me more apples, I would definitively brew hard apple cider. Sandor Ellix Katz says, in his book “wild fermentation”, to brew apple cider is one of the simplest alcohol fermentation you can make. You just need fresh good quality apple juice (preferably juiced by yourself), a jug, a cheese cloth and a rubber band. He calls it Spontaneous Cider.

Last year I got really inspired by Joanna at Zeb Bakes when she made apple cider vinegar with the scraps and pieces that were left over after making apple cake. I think it’s really clever to use something that normally would be thrown away. Joanna’s vinegar was inspired by Carl Legge‘s experiments which he describes very well in his post Fermenting Revolution 2 – Apple cider vinegar. The below recipe is pretty much the same as Carl’s formula (Sandor Katz suggests less sugar in his book).

I think my neighbor’s Granny Smith are perfect for this recipe.

Granny Smith Cider Vinegar

  • ½ cup (about 120 ml) sugar (I used half regular sugar and half brown)
  • 4 ¼ cup (one liter) water
  • 6-12 small Granny Smith apples* (more or less if you are using scraps or whole apples)

Heat up the water together with the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved into the water take off the heat and let cool. This is important as hot liquid will not let the natural yeast start the process. During this time you can prepare the apples. I used whole apples, which I rinsed and cut into one inch (2-3 cm) pieces. But you can use leftover bits and pieces as well. Place the apples in a large glass jar or other suitable container. It’s good if the jar has a wide opening, according to Sandor Katz a larger exposure to air helps the process.

When the sugar solution is cool enough (about room temperature) pour it over the apple pieces. Place a plate on top to weigh down the apples (I took a bowl and a mortar). Place the container in a warm place. To avoid flies etc cover with a cheesecloth or kitchen towel (fastened by a rubber band). Stir and taste the apples every day. (After about 3 days I could see small bubbles and the flavor was sweet and fizzy. This as a good sign, the fermenting process is doing what it should do).

After 7-10 days, the apples have done their job and you will need to strain them through a sieve. Pour back into the jar and let stand for another 7-14 days. Continue to taste your batch regularly. It will soon start to taste more like vinegar than cider. When you are happy with the flavor, strain the liquid again and pour the liquid into sterilized bottles and seal them properly. The film that will be created on top is called “Mother of Vinegar” that can be used as a starter for your next vinegar.


* You can of course use any other kind of apple in this recipe. You can also make vinegar with other kinds of fruit and berries. Sandor Katz mentions in his book that almost any fruit scraps and peels etc can be used for making vinegar. He suggests pineapple, grapes or even overripe bananas.

This article was originally published at EcoSalon, 2 October 2012.

In this Autumn Foraging series see also Autumn Foraging: Rose Hips with a recipe of Rose Hip Sherry.

 

 

Apple and Prune Stuffed Chicken

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kokblog_chickens

I am not used to celebrate Thanksgiving with all that goes with it. But as many people leave town to be with their families, we nearly always arrange something for those friends who are still here. I am not a turkey fan; I prefer goose, duck or even chicken. Last year our dear friend Russel brought two gorgeous chickens. The chickens came from Iowa, where they were brought up in a tree. Not really true, but as they were always outside, they flew up into the tree during the night so the fox couldn’t reach them. Anyway, Russel got them and the dinner was absolutely delicious.

one organic chicken
one apple
dried prunes
salt and some pepper
thyme
lemon

Clean the chicken and rub it with a piece of lemon, both inside and outside. Rub also the chicken with a mixture of salt and pepper. Fill the stomach with thyme, apple pieces and prunes. Take an oven safe string and bind the legs of the chicken. Grease an oven tin with butter and bake the chicken in the oven at 175° (350 F) for 1-2 hours. The time depends on the size of the chicken, I always count 1 hour per kilo (about 2 pounds), but with the filling it can take even longer. The chicken is done when you can easily loosen the legs. To give the chicken a great golden brown color, poor the fat over it from the bottom of the tin. Let the chicken cool down a little before cutting it.

Heat up some of the fat from the chicken. I always let some of the apples and prunes cook in the fat for a greater taste. Filter the sauce before adding some milk or cream. Heat it up again and when it starts to boil lower the temperature and season with salt, pepper and some lingonberries or cranberries. Serve with boiled potatoes, the sauce, sour pickled gherkins, lingonberries and a salad.

This recipe is from my mother, its how she would prepare a goose. I think many prepare their Thanksgiving turkey in a similar way. This year I will do duck.

Rum Apple Pie

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apple kingdome

As I am in the Apple Kingdom (Äppelriket på Österlen) right now I thought it was a good idea to write about my apple pie. For this recipe I prefer a sour apple that is a little soft, as they often melt in the oven. If this would be an Apple Tart I would choose a firmer apple. When I am home in the east village I usually buy mackintosh, wish I think works fine. In the apple kingdom they have many kinds of apples (ofcourse) and the best kinds are what they call food apples (matäpplen). This time I tried Gravenstein. I am not sure I really can call that a food apple. But it has the sourness and softness that I like.

3-4 apples
juice of a lemon
3-5 tablespoons rum
100 gram (3.5 oz)  butter
6-7 table spoons sucanat
200 ml (0.85 cups) flour
75 ml (0.3 cups) walnuts or almond

Peel the apples and slice them thin. Cover the bottom of a greased baking tin with the apples. Soak the apples with the rum. Mix the flour with butter, chopped walnuts and sucanat. Squeeze some lemon juice over the dough and mix it. As I never really follow a specific recipe when I make my apple pie it could be necessary to add some more of the ingredients. The crust should be sticky and the taste should be sweet with a nice touch of sour lemon. Let it rest a little in the fridge. Flatten some of the sticky crust out in your hand and place it over the apples. Repeat until all the apples are covered. Bake the pie in the oven at 200°C (400F) until the apples are melted and the crust has started to get firmer and got some color. Serve warm with some whipped cream.