The most time-consuming step in making this pie is peeling the apples, coring, pitting and slicing them just right. Otherwise it’s a cinch to make. But its core of goodness is this: It’s baked in a cast-iron skillet. The crust gets beautifully burnished more so than in a traditional pie plate. And the ingredients list is minimal. No spices like cinnamon or nutmeg are used, just the plain goodness of great apples, sugar and a bit of butter–and the secret ingredient, cous cous.
Skillet apple pie with cous cous
I’ve been making this pie for years, having discovered it in an old Gourmet Magazine in the the late 80s. What stood out was the use of cous cous as a thickener. You sprinkle about a tablespoon of cous cous over the pastry case bottom. Then fill it with a mix of apple varieties (I get mine from Sweetser’s), Sprinkle on some sugar, dot the top with butter and a fold in the pastry overhang to cover the apples partially and bake for about 1 hour until it’s all bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
It goes quickly!
I make it in an 8-inch Lodge skillet that’s greased lightly with butter. Make the pastry, letting it rest for about 30 minutes after assembling the dough and then roll out to fit the skillet, allowing for a 1- to 2- inch overhang. Sprinkle the cous cous over the chilled pastry case. Fill with the apples (about 2 to 3 large apples), sprinkle on about 1/2 cup sugar, dot with about a tablespoon of butter then fold over the pastry to cover the apples partially.
Ingredients
- Pastry
- 1 1//4 cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch salt
- Pinch sugar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 /4 cup ice water
- 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cous cous
- Filling
- 2 to 3 large apples of mixed variety, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 /2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Pastry. Using a food processor add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the butter and pulse 8 times until the mixture is crumbly with large and small pieces of butter.
- Mix the water with the vinegar if using and gradually add the water, pulsing until the dough comes together and is lightly moist and holds together when pinched.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured board, form into a ball, kneading the dough slightly by pushing a portion of it away, using the heel of your hand. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and lightly flatten into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out.
- Filling. Peel the apples and put through an apple slicer/corer. Depending on your corer, the apples might need to sliced in half to thin the slices, which should be about 1/2 inch thick
- Roll out the pastry and fit it into an 8-inch cast-iron skillet, leaving an inch or two of overhang.
- Sprinkle the bottom of the pastry with the cous cous, add the apples, sprinkle on the sugar and dot the top with butter. Fold over the overhang, leaving a third of the filling uncovered.
- Put into a 375 degree oven and bake for about an hour or until the filling is very bubbly, the apples tender and the pastry a rich golden brown. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
