This recipe is adapted from a version using pears from Patricia Wells’ “Bistro Cooking.” Golden Delicious apples are good candidates for this pie because they hold their shape well.
Pâte Brisée)
1 to 1 1/4 cups flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
Place 1 cup flour, the butter and salt in food processor. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add the ice water and pulse together just until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Do not let it form a ball. Transfer pastry to waxed paper; flatten the dough into a disk. If the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle it with additional flour, incorporating 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap pastry in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Fruit filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 to 8 apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the apples and sugar. Cook, stirring carefully from time to time so the apples and sugar do not stick, around 20 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook until the apples and sugar are a deep golden brown, about 15 more minutes. [Patricia Wells writes: “If you are like me, the urge will be to stop the cooking a bit soon, so it doesn’t burn. But the tart will be much prettier and taste better if you take the time to allow the [apples] to turn a true golden brown.”
She’s right.] Shake the pan from time to time, and watch carefully to be sure that the apples and sugar do not burn.
Pile the apples into an unbuttered round 10-inch clear glass baking dish.
Roll out the pastry slightly larger than the dish. Place the pastry on top of the apples, tucking in a bit of the dough around the edges and down the dish. You do not need to prick the dough.
Place the tart in the center of the oven and bake until the apples bubble and the pastry is a deep, golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove the tart from the oven and immediately place a large, heatproof serving platter top-side down on top of the baking dish. Invert the pan and give the bottom a firm tap to release any apples that may be sticking to the bottom. Slowly release the baking dish, so the tart falls evenly onto the serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.
