Spanish Food Fridays-- apple pie

I like to try to Spanish recipes and blog about them, so I think I will dedicate Fridays to new Spanish foods, either ones I cook, or ones I eat in town. :-) Today's centerpiece is on a Tarte de manzanas, or apple pie. Last weekend, we were making dinner for our new neighbors and friends. But... I didn't have my household goods yet, and had a pretty limited pantry of food supplies to work with. I went to the fruit truck looking for peaches to make a cobbler, but alas no peaches. However, he had some good looking apples, so I got them instead and went home searching for a simple apple recipe with basic ingredients. I was surprised to see a recipe for an apple tarte that fit that description. At first I thought, "apple pie is American! This is just a Spanish adaptation of our dessert." But no, a tarte is very different from a pie, and since apples are abundant in Northern Spain, it is fair to think they developed their recipe before us.

There are two main distinctions between the apple pie recipes I have used before, and this Spanish one. First, the crust. I have made many pies in my life, and even won prizes for my light, flaky crusts. The key to an American pie crust is cutting shortening into flour, while adding just a bit of water and salt, and leaving small chunks in the bowl. This recipe had those ingredients, but also called for eggs, sugar, and baking powder in the crust. And it mixed in a food processor. Hey, that sounds more like a cake! It actually ended up with the taste and consistency of a sugar cookie, which is a pretty unique and delightful crust, I think! I rolled it out like a piecrust, but it was thin, so as it cooked, it drooped over each apple chuck and became nice and golden.

The second main difference was the treatment of the apples. Usually I would peel/core/slice the apples, then sprinkle them with sugar to draw out the liquid, then add cinnamon and nutmeg to make it taste like apple pie. This recipe just asked you to peel/chop the apples, and put them directly in the crust. No sugar added. No seasoning added (although I did sprinkle them with a little cinnamon). How would the pie have any flavor? Well, as I mentioned before, one tenant of Spanish cooking is using quality ingredients, and altering them as little as possible. The apples were local and probably organic, so they were very juicy and flavorful, kind of like a Macintosh. The crust kept them moist, and they didn't cook down into an applesauce-like mush. They were tender, juicy, and flavorful! I was very proud at how delicious and easy the tarte was to make, and will probably make it again this Fall.