I celebrated my day off by doing almost nothing. A nice luxury. Though, after a day of pretty much lounging around, I tend to get restless and usually end up making something good to eat after everyone else has gone to bed. For those of you who may be concerned, I always share with the "roommates."
Based on Ina Garten's Summer Fruit Crostata from her book "Barefoot Contessa At Home", my Winter Fruit Crostata was soooo good and pretty easy to make! (A crostata is to Italians what a galette is to the French - a rustic, free-form, pie-esque pastry. My dad noted that it’s actually just a pie without the pan. Point: Dad.)
I followed the pastry recipe to the letter. By the time the dough had relaxed in the fridge long enough, I was done peeling, chopping, and seasoning the apples and had time to do my happy dance around the kitchen a time or two.
I used Gala apples because that's what I had on hand. Ina recommends (and I agree) that you use a tart apple such as Granny Smith. This gives the crostata a little extra flavor. Alas, I had Gala, and it's nearly gone, anyway. Must not have been too bad..
For the seasonings, I just went with what tasted the best along the way. A good pinch of salt to bring out the rest of the flavors, a few big shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg, a clump of brown sugar, and enough sugar and flour to create the right amount of "goo" - a technical baking term. To loosen the mixture and contribute to the goo, I added water - though, orange or lemon juice tastes amazing and provides the right amount of zing which, again, keeps the apples from tasting like every other apple pie you’ve ever had.
Bake at 450F for 20 minutes and you've got yourself a tasty little President's Day treat. And because the tart is supposed to look rustic, no one will notice when you rip it completely in half while moving it to the cooling rack :)
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| The re-assembled result. |
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