Delicious Rustic Apple Tart

At the farmer's market on Saturday we picked up a bag of Colorado gala apples from the western slope.  I decided to try this Rustic Apple Tart and it actually turned out quite well!  This recipe is a "healthier" version of your normal apple tart recipes. It is much lower in sugar and fat, and of course, it is gluten and dairy free!  The trickiest part is the dough; I added a little more lemon juice than the recipe called for so it wasn't so crumbly.  I used a normal Brown Rice Flour mix that I make ahead of time and store in the freezer. (See my next blog on flour mixtures)  I brushed the edges with an egg wash with about ten minutes of baking left to help with the deep rustic look.  I also added walnuts-pecans or almonds would be great as well.  This tart is a great fall treat that can be served with a lowfat vanilla yogurt and a nice cup of coffee:-) Enjoy!

~Rustic Apple Tart~



GF Pie Crust Recipe:

1 cup plus 2 T Brown Rice Flour Mix (or any all purpose gluten free mix)

2 T sweet rice flour

1 T granulated sugar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt

6 T cold unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces

1 large egg

2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

Mix Flours, sugar, xanthan, and slat in large bowl of electric mixer.  Add butter and mix w/ pastry cutter until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.

Add egg and lemon juice.  Mix on low speed until dough holds together; it should not be sticky.  If it is too dry and crumbly, add more lemon juice.  Form dough into a ball using your hands.  Place on a sheet of wax paper.  Top w/ a second sheet of wax paper and flatten dough to 1 in thickness.

Roll out dough between the 2 sheets of wax paper.  If dough seems tacky, refrigerate for 15 mins before preceeding.  It is best to work with a cool dough.

Rustic Apple Tart

5 cups firm apples cut into small slices (I used 4 medium sized apples)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 T corn starch or arrowroot powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 T lemon juice

2 T unsalted butter

1/2 cup slightly chopped walnuts; optional

1 1/2 T apple or red currant jelly; optional

1 egg, whisked well for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a large baking sheet w/ parchment paper.

2. Roll pie dough into a 12-inch round between two sheets of wax paper.  Remove the top sheet and use your fingers to push dough in from edges to make a round dough; Turn the round of dough over onto the parchment paper on the baking sheet and remove other piece of wax paper.

3. Peel, core, and slice apple sinto eight equal slices.  Cut each slice into three equal thinner slices.  put into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, mix sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts and lemon juice.  Pour over apples and mix until all apples are well coated.  Lay the apples in a spiral circular fashion over center of pie dough, leaving a 1.5 inch edge around the entire round.  Carefull pull up and fold edges of dough over apples nad push down slightly so the dough is well supported by the apples.  Patch any holes in the odugh so juices don't leak out.  Dot tops of apples w/ thin slices of butter.

4. Place in center of rack and bake for 40-50 mins until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Ten minutes prior to being done, remove tart from oven, brush outer edges of dough with egg wash and place back in oven.  

5. Optional: melt apple jelly or red currant in a small saucepan.  Brush melted jelly over top of apples w/ a pastry brush. 

*This recipe can be made non gluten free by using any regular pie crust recipe (or frozen pie crusts) and then following the apple tart recipe exaclty the same as above