APPLE CROSTATA (Catherine Johnston)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
PASTRY (makes 2): 2 cups all-purpose Flour ½ tsp. Kosher Salt ¼ cup Iced Water
¼ cup granulated Sugar ½ lb. very cold UNSALTED Butter (set aside)
Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and toss with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times until butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add ice water all at once through the feeding tube. Keep pulsing to combine, but stop just before dough comes together. Turn dough out onto floured board. Form 2 disks (wrap 1 in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, or freeze to use another time.) Roll pastry into 11 inch circle. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
FILLING : 1 ½ lbs. Yellow Delicious or Jonagold Apples (I mix apples)
¼ tsp. grated Lemon Zest ¼ tsp. Kosher Salt 4 T. cold UNSALTED Butter (½ stick)
1 T. fresh Lemon Juice ¼ tsp. ground Cinnamon (cut into cubes)
¼ cup all- purpose Flour 1/8 tsp. ground Allspice
Peel, core, quarter apples and cut into bite size pieces. Toss with lemon zest and juice and a sprinkling of sugar. Mix together cinnamon, salt, flour and allspice. Toss onto apples and mix until well coated. Add butter. (You can mix in a handful of golden raisins also). Place half apple mixture into pastry disk and pleat the dough onto the mixture. Bake crostata for 20 to 25 min., or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Let cool 5 min. Serve with slightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.