My supreme love of cooking -- ok, and eating -- makes the thought of spending an entire evening preparing a special dish or meal seem more like a privilege than some sort of housewifely obligation. I make things from scratch whenever possible for a few reasons: so I know what I’m consuming, so I can enjoy consuming what is generally a superior product, and so I can bask in the personal glory of sweet, delicious success. Except sometimes things don’t work out that way. Sometimes the recipe gods conspire against me, and it takes all day to cut and roast and cool and scrape and puree the pumpkin. And then when I go to make my pie the container falls on the floor and a third of my lovingly prepared squash puree splatters across the kitchen like some sort of cucurbita, crime scene. A crime, indeed. The pie, made with the remaining puree, was delectable for sure, complete with tiny bits of slightly-less-pureed squash to remind me of the extra effort I had put in. But after all that, it didn’t taste quite as pumpkin-y as I wanted it to, and the canned stuff started to seem pretty appealing, after all.
Sometimes the extra effort to make something from scratch is clearly worth it, but there are times when a glitch or two makes the whole thing feel like an exercise in futility. When I set about making a crostata, using some pretty outrageous apples my sister picked for me in western MA and local Harwich cranberries, my hopes were high. And then I realized that crostata crust dough is hugely dissimilar to the buttermilk pie crust dough (my new favorite) which I had lovingly prepared in advanced, so I quickly got down to business mixing up the wetter, more egg-rich crust the recipe actually called for. Next, I peeled, cored, and cut three pounds of apples, mixed them up with the spices, citrus zests, and a bit of sweetness, and... watched them melt to mush over a medium flame. Rather than thickening the sugary apple juices and leaving me with tender slices of fruit, the cooking process turned my apples into accidental applesauce. So now I have an extra pie crust and a jar full of the most delicious applesauce I may have ever tasted. This is what I would call a champagne problem, but alas. Having already invested a number of sticks of butter into this attempt (let’s not count, mmmkay?) and wholly unwilling to admit defeat, I bought more apples and tried again. This time, success. I let the apple mixture cool, added chopped fresh cranberries, piled it on the thickly rolled-out crust, and sprinkled it with a hefty crumble topping. Then I folded up the dough -- things start to get really rustic and Martha Stewart-y at this point -- and baked it until the crust turned brown and the insides were thick and bubbly. What came out of the oven was impressive. The crostata was, first of all, enormous -- so big, in fact, that I had to bake it on a pizza stone and leave it on there for lack of a plate large enough to accommodate it. The crust was perfectly tender and buttery, and sturdy enough to hold all of the yummy filling in where it belonged. Said filling was rich, with a tartness that was balanced perfectly by the sweet crumble topping. A cannelle of vanilla ice cream wouldn’t hurt, either.
Sometimes the extra effort to make something from scratch is clearly worth it, but there are times when a glitch or two makes the whole thing feel like an exercise in futility. When I set about making a crostata, using some pretty outrageous apples my sister picked for me in western MA and local Harwich cranberries, my hopes were high. And then I realized that crostata crust dough is hugely dissimilar to the buttermilk pie crust dough (my new favorite) which I had lovingly prepared in advanced, so I quickly got down to business mixing up the wetter, more egg-rich crust the recipe actually called for. Next, I peeled, cored, and cut three pounds of apples, mixed them up with the spices, citrus zests, and a bit of sweetness, and... watched them melt to mush over a medium flame. Rather than thickening the sugary apple juices and leaving me with tender slices of fruit, the cooking process turned my apples into accidental applesauce. So now I have an extra pie crust and a jar full of the most delicious applesauce I may have ever tasted. This is what I would call a champagne problem, but alas. Having already invested a number of sticks of butter into this attempt (let’s not count, mmmkay?) and wholly unwilling to admit defeat, I bought more apples and tried again. This time, success. I let the apple mixture cool, added chopped fresh cranberries, piled it on the thickly rolled-out crust, and sprinkled it with a hefty crumble topping. Then I folded up the dough -- things start to get really rustic and Martha Stewart-y at this point -- and baked it until the crust turned brown and the insides were thick and bubbly. What came out of the oven was impressive. The crostata was, first of all, enormous -- so big, in fact, that I had to bake it on a pizza stone and leave it on there for lack of a plate large enough to accommodate it. The crust was perfectly tender and buttery, and sturdy enough to hold all of the yummy filling in where it belonged. Said filling was rich, with a tartness that was balanced perfectly by the sweet crumble topping. A cannelle of vanilla ice cream wouldn’t hurt, either.
So after consuming enough slices of Apple Cranberry Crisp Crostata to make a well-informed decision, I can say, with some certainty, that it was worth it. And I must have enjoyed the process, because the sink was still full of dirty dishes when I started pondering what recipe I could make next...
Apple Cranberry Crisp Crostata
Crust:
2 ½ cups Flour
½ cup Sugar
½ tsp Salt
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into cubes
4 Egg yolks
3 tblsp Ice water
Beat dry ingredients and butter together until mixture resembles a loose, coarse sand. Add yolks and mix slightly, then add ice water and mix until barely incorporated. Form dough into a disk on a sheet of parchment or wax paper, wrap it up, and let chill at least one hour.
Filling:
4 tblsp Butter (1/2 stick)
3 lb Apples (granny smith or other sturdy variety works best)
zest of 1 Orange
zest of 1 Lemon
¼ tsp Salt
⅓ cup Sugar
¾ cup cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces
Add all filling ingredients except cranberries into a large pan and saute over high heat. Cook until juices have thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add chopped cranberries.
Crumb Topping:
¾ cup Flour
¼ cup Brown sugar
¼ cup Sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Allspice
1 stick Butter, cold and cut into cubes
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then add cold butter. Using your fingers, mush it all together until fairly consistent but with some chunks remaining. Chill.
Assembly:
Flour
1 Egg, beaten
Granulated Sugar
Once all components have been chilled, remove crust dough from fridge and allow to soften for 4-5 minutes. Prepare a pizza stone or large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment. Roll out dough into a 14 inch circle, about ¼ inch thick. Place on prepared pan, and pile cooled apple mixture in the center, leaving a 3 inch border of dough. Sprinkle evenly with crumble topping. Fold dough up on top of filling, folding in excess dough evenly around the perimeter. Place in fridge to firm up, around 30 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg for egg wash and preheat oven to 350 F. Once dough is firm, brush egg wash onto exposed dough and sprinkle with sugar. Cook 40 to 50 minutes, or until dough is golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Cool, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream (this is ok even for breakfast).
Crust:
2 ½ cups Flour
½ cup Sugar
½ tsp Salt
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into cubes
4 Egg yolks
3 tblsp Ice water
Beat dry ingredients and butter together until mixture resembles a loose, coarse sand. Add yolks and mix slightly, then add ice water and mix until barely incorporated. Form dough into a disk on a sheet of parchment or wax paper, wrap it up, and let chill at least one hour.
Filling:
4 tblsp Butter (1/2 stick)
3 lb Apples (granny smith or other sturdy variety works best)
zest of 1 Orange
zest of 1 Lemon
¼ tsp Salt
⅓ cup Sugar
¾ cup cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces
Add all filling ingredients except cranberries into a large pan and saute over high heat. Cook until juices have thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add chopped cranberries.
Crumb Topping:
¾ cup Flour
¼ cup Brown sugar
¼ cup Sugar
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Allspice
1 stick Butter, cold and cut into cubes
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then add cold butter. Using your fingers, mush it all together until fairly consistent but with some chunks remaining. Chill.
Assembly:
Flour
1 Egg, beaten
Granulated Sugar
Once all components have been chilled, remove crust dough from fridge and allow to soften for 4-5 minutes. Prepare a pizza stone or large cookie sheet with a sheet of parchment. Roll out dough into a 14 inch circle, about ¼ inch thick. Place on prepared pan, and pile cooled apple mixture in the center, leaving a 3 inch border of dough. Sprinkle evenly with crumble topping. Fold dough up on top of filling, folding in excess dough evenly around the perimeter. Place in fridge to firm up, around 30 minutes. Meanwhile, beat egg for egg wash and preheat oven to 350 F. Once dough is firm, brush egg wash onto exposed dough and sprinkle with sugar. Cook 40 to 50 minutes, or until dough is golden brown and filling begins to bubble. Cool, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream (this is ok even for breakfast).
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