Pi Day! (Parmesan Shallot-Apple Tart) -- Tuna Day, 25th of Windy, Year 233

[crafty_packrat]

Since today is Pi Day, I have made a pie

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups (225 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp chilled butter
1 egg yolk
2 tsp thyme leaves
4 Tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated
4 Tbsp cold water, approximately
4 medium shallots
2 apples, tart or pie varieties if possible (Granny Smith, York, Gravestein, etc)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Tools
Tarte tin pan (or ovenproof frying pan, or shallow pie plate)
Pastry beater on a mixer or a food processor

Directions

1. Put the flour in the food processor or stand mixer with a pastry beater; add 1/2 cup of butter cut into small pieces and mix to the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Then add the egg yolk, thyme, and 3 T of parmesan cheese and mix briefly. Add a few tablespoons of cold water to produce a soft rollable dough.


2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and bring together into a ball. Put in a bowl and cover, and let rest in fridge while you cook the shallots and apples.


3. Set the oven to 425°F/200°C


4. Peel the shallots, then halve them lengthwise. Melt the remaining 2 T of butter in a skillet over moderate heat with 2T of olive oil and the add the shallots, cut side down. Let them brown lightly, then flip to over and let brown again.


5. Meanwhile core and cut the apples into eighths. Remove the shallots -- to the pie plate if using.


6. Add the apples to the skillet and let them soften and turn lightly gold.


7. Scatter the last T of parmesan over the shallots, then add the lightly cooked apples to the pie plate.


8. Roll the pastry dough out to about 1.25 inches larger than your pie plate (a Roul'pat or similar is useful here). Lay the pastry dough over the apples and shallots, tucking the overhanging dough into the plate.


9. Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust is a pale golden brown and butter is bubbling around the edges.


10. Remove from oven, let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then flip out onto a serving plate.

This makes a surprisingly sweet savory pie, with approximately 6 servings.

The recipe if from Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter by Nigel Slater, a cookbook with easy vegetarian recipes. The author is British, so there are some ingredients that are not actually commonly available in the US or are not seasonal during the winter or even autumn here, but substitutions will not greatly effect most of the recipes.

Note: If you can't find shallots, you can try using sweet onions.