Erica De Mane

Monna Pomano, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1864.

Recipe: Apple Torta with Grappa and Cinnamon

The snooty pout and wealth-drenched appeal of the woman in this painting, who happens to be clutching an apple, inspired me to proceed in a more formal way than usual when constructing my first apple tart of the season. Cutting lots of uniformly thin slices of fruit didn’t really feel like me at first, but the results were pretty (prettier, in fact, than this woman, who, I think, actually looks like a guy—a pre-Raphaelite trans, perhaps?). As fancy looking as this torta is, it’s not hard to put together. Seriously. I didn’t even blind-bake the crust, which is a fussy and somewhat annoying step that often turns me off to tart making (messing with all those beans and that aluminum foil, and half the time the thing comes out just as soggy as if I hadn’t gone to all the bother).

Take a trip to the farmer’s market now and get yourself a bunch of firm, slightly tart baking apples (I used Cortlands). The aroma of the seasonal apples alone will provoke you into apple cooking mode, I promise you.

I’ve been into spices this summer, so I chose to flavor this tart with cinnamon and coriander seed. I used the slightly more bitter and stronger Ceylon cinnamon instead of the usual, sweeter Mexican kind, because I wanted an unexpected result, cinnamon and apple being such a standard combination, and mixed with the coriander the apples became almost savory. In fact, with this tart’s absence of cream and eggs, the entire thing takes on a feel of breakfast, which is when my husband has been eating it. But if you serve it with the a dollop of whipped cream and a glass of grappa, it’s a pretty nice dessert offering as well. Judge the amount of sugar you use in it by the sweetness of your apples.

Apple Torta with Grappa and Cinnamon

You’ll want a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom for this.

For the crust:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into small dice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to oil the tart pan
About 3 tablespoons cold white wine (you might need a touch more)

For the applesauce:

3 or 4 large, firm, slightly tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons grappa
About ¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon

For the top:

3 large apples (the same type you used for the applesauce), peeled, cored, and cut into very thin rounds
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground Ceylon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
2 tablespoons melted butter

To make the dough: Place the flour, salt, sugar, and ground coriander in the bowl of a food processor, and give it a few pulses. Add the butter and the olive oil, and pulse quickly a few more times, just until the butter is broken up into pea-size bits. Add the white wine, and pulse quickly again, until you have a slightly moist but still crumbly mess. Don’t go so far that the dough forms a ball. Dump the dough out onto a counter, and gather it into a ball by pressing it together with your hands. Wrap it in plastic, and stick it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

To make the applesauce: Put all the applesauce ingredients into a medium sauce pan, add a splash of water, and cook over medium heat, partially covered, until the apples are very soft, adding a little more water if it all gets too dry. Now whisk the sauce until it’s smooth (you can instead do this in a food processor, if you don’t mind an extra bowl to clean). The sauce should be quite thick. If it seems too loose, cook it down a bit. Stick the applesauce in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, to cool it slightly.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Grease the tart pan with a little olive oil, and place it on a sheet pan. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work space, and drape it into the pan, cutting off the overhang. Pour in the applesauce, and smooth it down.

Now lay the apple slices on top of the applesauce in a circular pattern. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon and coriander, and sprinkle it over the top. Drizzle on the melted butter.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.