Pastry
1/3 c Old fashioned oats
2 tb Sugar
1 1/4 c Flour
1/8 ts Salt
1/2 c Unsalted butter, chilled;
-cut in 1/2″ pieces
4 tb Ice water
Filling
6 tb Unsalted butter
1/3 c Sugar
1/3 c Brown sugar; packed
1 3/4 ts Lemon peel; grated
2 1/2 lb Golden delicious apples,
-peeled, halved; cored
Each apple cut into 3 wedges
Unsweetened whipped cream;
-garnish, optional
For pastry: Blend oats and sugar in a processor until oats are finely
ground. Blend in flour and salt. Add butter and process using the on/off
button, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in ice water by the
tablespoon, until mixture begins to clump together. Gather dough into
ball, flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days
ahead. Keep chilled. Soften at room temperature before rolling.)
For filling: Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a heavy 10″ diameter
cast iron skillet over medium heat. Gradually mix in both sugars; stir
until sugars begin to dissolve and mixture starts to bubble, about 2
minutes. Mix in lemon peel. Remove from heat. Arrange apple wedges on their
sides in a circle around the eges of the skillet, so they fit tightly.
Place several apple wedges tightly together in center of skillet. Cut any
remaining apple wedges into 1/2″ pieces; scatter over apple wedges,
mounding slightly in center.
Place skillet over medium heat and cook 3 minutes. Cover skillet and cook
apples 5 minutes. Uncover skillet and cook until apple juices and sugars
form syrup but apples are still firm to touch, about 10 minutes. Remove
from heat.
Roll out dough between sheets of floured wax paper to 12″ round. Peel off
top sheet of paper. Using bottom sheet of waxed paper as an aid, invert
dough onto warm apples in skillet. Remove wax papper. Press pastry edges
down and inside skillet around apples.
Bake until crust is deep golden, about 40 minutes. Using a small knife,
cut around crust to loosen. Let stand 1 minute. Place a large platter over
skillet. Using oven mitts as an aid, hold platter and skillet tightly
together and invert tart onto platter. Rearrange any apples that may have
become dislodged. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes. Cut into wedges.
Garnish with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream on top of slice.
Note: As the tart cools, the crust gets flakier, so it’s best not to have
this right out of the oven. Try it lukewarm or at room temperature.
Yields
8 Servings