RUSTIC APPLE TART

Rustic Apple Tart, originally uploaded by thompswl.

Adapted from Jacques Pépin's recipe featured in Food and Wine and Pomi's Pizza in Cincinnati, OH.

This is a great pie crust but you can just as easily use a pre-made dough. The original Food and Wine recipe was a pretty basic rustic tart, good but nothing too over the top. By taking a page from the awarding winning "Apple Pizza" at Pomi's in Cincinnati I added some ricotta and a streusel topping and made something pretty spectacular. Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes to assemble if you have the dough pre-made. You can make it ahead of time and just re-heat it before serving.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 large Golden Delicious apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons melted and strained apricot preserves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons instant oatmeal
2 tablespoons of butter (softened)
pinch of cinnamon
4 tablespoons Ricotta
1 egg (white only)
sprinkling of turbino sugar (raw sugar)

Directions
In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt. Add the cold butter and process just until the butter is the size of peas, about 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and process just until moistened, about 5 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Pat the dough into a disk. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 16- to 17-inch round about 1/4 inch thick.
Line a large unrimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it onto the prepared baking sheet.

After placing the dough on a baking sheet generously spread Apricot preserves over the dough. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss the apples in the mixture, then arrange the apple slices on top in overlapping concentric circles to within 3 inches of the edge. Fold the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion. In a new bowl mix the brown sugar, butter and oatmeal until it forms a streusel. Crumble this mixture over the top of the tart, then top with ricotta. Make an egg wash with the egg white and brush the edges of the tart. Finally sprinkle some turbino sugar over the edges and you're ready to put it in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake the tart in the center of the oven for 1 hour, or until the apples are tender and golden and the crust is deep golden and cooked through. Slide the parchment onto a wire rack and let the tart cool slightly before serving.

Make Ahead
The baked tart can be stored overnight at room temperature. Reheat in a 325° oven before serving.