Thin Crust Apple Tart

We had gorgeous weather this weekend. It was very sunny and warm enough to walk around in sandals and summer clothes. Lots of Montrealers took advantage of fall's last few days of warm weather to contemplate the gorgeous colours of the leaves or to go out in the countryside to pick apples, as it's peak season for apple and pear picking. Next week I'll be gearing up for this traditional activity, if the nice weather persists, and can't wait to stop by the local family-owned baking joints where they make amazing apple and pumpkin pies. I never thought pumpkin pies would be delicious until I had tried one a few years ago, freshly made straight out of the oven. My view on pumpkin pies or pumpkins alone completely changed that day.

But today, I was in the mood to make a thin crust apple tart, which is incredibly simple to make. It's a recipe that my aunt gave me while I was visiting my relatives in Lausanne, Switzerland a few years ago. Both my aunt and uncle are incredible cooks, especially when it comes to vietnamese and french food. Each time I went over, I always felt like I was greeted by an italian family. There is always so much food! And like italians, my relatives love to watch their guests eat, and they will not stop nagging you until you've eaten everything. With the continuous poking, you'll never hear the end of "eat!". Who says you need to be Italian to eat well?

Recipe "au pif":

Phyllo dough sheets (3 to 4 sheets) or pre-made pastry dough

3 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter or olive oil (or half qty butter plus half qty olive oil)

1/4 cup heavy cream (35%)

some icing sugar

Preheat oven at 350F.

Peel apples, remove center and cut them in very thin slices

Brush each phyllo sheet with butter and oil and lay them one on top of the other on a medium sized flat rectangular baking pan (14 inch x 9 1/2 inch), or roll pastry dough size of baking pan, to flatten it at about 1/4 inch thin (1/2 cm).

Lay the slices of the apples on the dough.

Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle the heavy cream. Put back in oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and edges of some of the apple slices are slightly browned.

Sprinkle some icing sugar.

Serves 4-6 people.

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt, while crust is still crispy.