Classic Apple Tart

Recently I gave my kids a mini lesson in economics. When we were travelling in Utah last month for our summer vacation, a typical lunch for the four of us in a restaurant cost close to $50. One day we stopped at a market and bought the makings of a humble lunch – bread, peanut butter, bananas, tortilla chips, and nectarines – which we ate outside at a picnic table. The food stretched for more than one meal yet we spent less than $20 for all of it.  I wanted the kids to understand what an indulgence it is to eat in restaurants and how it can easily cost at least double if not more to do so.

Recipe: Classic Apple Tart

• Prep Time: 40 min(s)
 
• Cook Time: 60 min(s)

Reprinted with permission from the book Ten Dollar Dinners. Copyright © 2012 by Melissa d’Arabian. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, plus
• 1 tablespoon, melted
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 Granny Smith apples
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Set the cubed butter on a plate and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Fill a cup with ice and water and set aside. Place 1 1/2 of the flour, 1⁄ 8 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Take the butter out of the freezer and add it to the flour. Pulse the mixture until it looks like wet sand, about 10 seconds. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the ice water and pulse until the dough comes together into a ball.
2. Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Then lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to about a 10- to 11-inch circle, sprinkling more flour under and on top of the dough as necessary. Gently drape the dough over the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9- or 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan (ideally one with a removable bottom). Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan as evenly as possible and press off excess dough from the fluted rim. Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel, core, and quarter the apples and then thinly slice them lengthwise. Place the apples in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice, the cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1⁄ 8 teaspoon salt. Remove the baking sheet with the tart shell from the refrigerator. Arrange the apples in concentric circles so they overlap slightly. Brush the edges of the crust with the melted butter and then bake until the edges are golden and the apples have cooked down, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.