Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Torta rustica di Mele (Rustic style Italian Apple Pie)

By Matthew Luca



So what makes an apple pie Italian? this recipe uses a flaky style pastry that's synonymous with the countries pastry desserts along with a little flavour twist from me. It's a melt in the mouth pie that is best served with a good spoon of vanilla ice cream / Gelato.

Ingredients for the Pastry
300g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
250g caster sugar
100g butter
2 egg
1 tablespoon baking powder

Ingredients for filling
6 large apples (peeled & sliced)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of amaretto liqueur
Sprig of fresh thyme (leafs picked of the stem)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon of butter

For the pastry, combine the flour, butter, 1 egg, sugar and baking powder using a mixer or by hand and knead into a dough. wrap in cling-film and set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
Cut the dough into two halves, dust a work surface with flour and roll into large circles to just over the size of the pie dish you will be using.
Lightly grease and flour the base of your pie dish and lay a sheet of pastry on the base (The base sheet should be intentionally thin as we will not blind bake the pastry).

For the filling, In a large pan add the apples, cinnamon, amaretto, butter, sugar and thyme leafs and cook on a high heat for around 2 minutes.

Put the apple filling onto the base layer and spread evenly. Lay over a thicker sheet of pastry on top, brush glaze the pastry with some egg wash (1 egg whisked) and put on the middle shelf of the oven for 35 minutes on 180c until the pastry is firm and golden brown. Allow to rest for a few minutes prior to serving.


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