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Bob Dollar, the protagonist of That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx, which is the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, is a shy man confused about his place in the world, who finds himself transplanted in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, a place full of interesting characters and rich in local customs and stories, a sliver of America in space and time.
The states of Texas and Oklahoma stacked like dirty pots in the sink, their handles touching. The same obelisks of sunlight fell on both sides of the state line, both shared out the same cold cuts of wind. Both lay in country of metallic light, tarnished brass clouds.
Bob's secret mission is to buy land so the company he works for can establish an industrial hog farm. Many of the same people that show Bob kindness oppose the hog farm which would pollute the air, the land and their dreams, a nightmare (incubo) from which there is no waking up.
Bob is a gentle, lost soul: he must live with the fact that the two people who should have loved him best, that should have supported and encouraged him and been there for him as he was growing up, abandoned him like an unnecessary piece of luggage. This is like Bob's personal hog farm: a nightmare from which he tries to wake up and make something out of his life.
To fulfill his assignment, Bob settles in a rough bunkhouse in Woolybucket and helps out at Cy Frease's Old Dog Cafe. Cy runs the Cafe in his own way:
Every other Saturday he drove down to Austin to shop at Whole Foods.
"Cowboys deserve to eat wholesome too," he said, opening himself to criticism (not long in coming) that he was a health food nut and probably a left-wing liberal if not a Communist.
He had a steady clientele of older men because he included on the menu eight or ten favorites from the Depression days when they had been boys and their tastes set: vinegar pie, cocoa gravy over biscuits, fried salt pork, and for the old cowboys, son-of-a-bitch stew.
Vinegar pie? The name seemed to describe a paradox, so I looked for more information and some recipes and then created my own version, which is not a pie, but a crostata (Italian tart), whose crust is made of pasta frolla (tart dough) and whose filling, the part where I kept closer to the tradition, is a vinegar-flavored cream.
It sounds strange and I was quite skeptical the first time I prepared it. The taste and texture, however, were a pleasant surprise: The apple cider vinegar (aceto di sidro di mele) makes the creamy filling's flavor sparkle and complements the buttery crust. The result is a tart that tastes like nothing else and certainly deserved a place on the Old Dog Cafe's menu.
After choosing the filling of this recipe from Gourmet as my main guide, I played a bit with the ingredients and this is the version I settled on. In the photos, the tart rests on my glass serving plate on an elegant place mat by la FABBRICA del LINO (Margherite collection).
FTC disclosure: I have received the place mat free of charge from the manufacturer. I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting them on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Vinegar tart
Ingredients:
For pasta frolla:
- 1/3 cup / 65 g ultrafine sugar or 1/2 cup powdered sugar (see Note 1)
- 1/2 cup / 60 g whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup / 65 g unbleached all-purpose flour (see Note 2)
- 1/4 cup / 30 g almond flour or almond meal
- 1/4 cup / 30 g whole-grain barley flour OR unbleached all-purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated zest of organic orange or lemon
- 6 tablespoons / 85 g / 3 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg (possibly from pastured poultry), lightly whisked to blend yolk and white
For the filling:
- 2 large egg (possibly from pastured poultry)
- 50 g ultrafine OR granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon Lebkuchen spices or alternative spice mix (see Note 3)
- 50 g golden brown sugar OR 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- 225 ml / 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml apple cider vinegar
Note 1: Ultrafine or superfine sugar is also referred to as baker's sugar. If you cannot find it, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.
Note 2: The less gluten (as indicated by % protein) in the flour, the better (I like to use Perfect Pastry blend by King Arthur Flour). Do not use bread flour.
Note 3: Lebkuchengewürz is a spice mix used in Germany to make Lebkuchen. There are many versions of this mix, which contains mostly cinnamon and a variety of other spices. The one I use includes, besides cinnamon, coriander, star anise, orange and lemon zest, nutmeg, fennel, cloves and cardamom. You can substitute it with some pumpkin pie spice mix (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace and cloves) or a mix of cinnamon, ginger and a hint of nutmeg.
How to make the pasta frolla
Put sugar, flours (2nd through 5th ingredient n the list) and salt in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix.
Add butter and pulse a few times for 3 seconds until the mix resembles coarse meal. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface.
[If you don't have a food processor: Whisk together sugar, flours (2nd through 5th ingredient above) and salt in a bowl. Rub or cut the butter into the sugar and flour mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.]
Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the egg and zest into it. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, then use your fingertips.
Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball. Use some all-purpose flour as needed to flour your hands to prevent excessive sticking.
Shape the dough into a flat disk 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. I usually make it the evening before and refrigerate it overnight.
How to prepare the bottom layer of the crostata
To bake the crostata, I recommend using a 9 or 9 1/2-inch / 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom, no less than 1 inch / 2.5 cm high.
Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge and unwrap it. I recommend you roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper or the plastic film in which it was wrapped as it is quite crumbly.
Lightly dust with flour the top of the dough and the surface on which you are rolling it. Keep some flour handy to lightly dust the dough as you go along.
If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling gently.
Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick. If you used parchment paper or plastic wrap as rolling surface, flip the dough over the tart pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the wrap.
Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan and use it, as necessary, where you find that you came up short. Make sure the dough comes well up to the edge all around and even a bit higher, as the filling is liquid when poured into the baked shell and it will fill it to the brim.
Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around. Prick the shell with a fork in several places. Refrigerate while you prepare the oven.
How to blind-bake the shell
Heat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.
Take the unbaked shell out of the refrigerator. Line it with a piece of parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights.
Bake the shell for 20 minutes, then take it out and remove the parchment paper with the pie weights. Bake for another 10 minutes, then take out of the oven and set aside.
While the shell bakes, prepare the filling.
How to make the filling
Whisk eggs and first amount of sugar in a bowl until bubbly. Sprinkle spices and whisk briefly to incorporate them.
Whisk together corn flour and second amount of sugar in a saucepan, then whisk in water and vinegar. Bring to a boil, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat. Add liquid to the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly.
Pour filling into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it reaches 175 F /80 C or coats the back of the spoon (the photo above shows that the line stays clear when I draw my finger across). Do not let the filling boil. Place the saucepan into a cold water bath and stir briefly. Take saucepan out of the cold water bath. If the shell is not yet ready, cover the surface of the filling with a piece of wax paper.
How to fill and bake the crostata
Make sure the oven is at 350 F / 177 C.
Pour the filling slowly into the baked tart shell and place in the oven. Bake 30 minutes, or until the filling is set. After the first 20 minutes, or earlier if needed, cover the rim of the shell with foil to prevent overbrowning.
Remove the tart from the oven and let cool slightly on a rack. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, release the tart base from the fluted tart ring.
Let cool a bit longer on the rack, then, with the help of a wide spatula, slide the crostata onto a serving plate. Make sure it is completely cool before slicing and serving.
Serves 10-12.
I made this tart a few times to finess the recipe, including on Thanksgiving Day. Traditional? I don't know, but I know that it was welcome on our Holiday table.
This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)
If you are interested in joining us in the future, this post introduces the four book selections for the upcoming eight months.
The photo is my contribution to edition #152 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Aparna of Stories from the Mahe Coast.
The photo was shot in color with my iPhone and then converted to sepia (Lightroom preset Sepia Tone).
The gallery of images contributed to the event.
I contribute my vinegar tart also to the 13th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. M like Minneapolis (USA) is hosted by me, Simona of briciole.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the crostata con crema all'aceto audio file [mp3].
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
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tart, crostata, vinegar, egg, Italian cuisine, American cuisine
crostata con crema all'aceto
La mia versione di questo dolce tradizionale americano è una crostata con la base di pasta frolla ripiena di crema aromatizzata all'aceto. Scetticismo è stata anche la mia reazione la prima volta che ho letto il nome, ma poi mi sono dovuta ricredere: è davvero buono.
Nelle foto, la crostata è posata su un piatto da portata di vetro sopra un'elegante tovaglietta de la FABBRICA del LINO (collezione Margherite).
FTC disclosure: Ho ricevuto la tovaglietta gratuitamente dall'azienda produttrice. Non ho ricevuto e non riceverò alcun compenso per presentarla sul mio blog. Le opinioni espresse nel post sono interamente personali.
Ingredienti:
Per la pasta frolla:
- 65 g zucchero fine o a velo
- 60 g farina integrale per torte
- 65 g farina 00 per dolci
- 30 g farina d'orzo integrale oppure 30 g farina 00 per dolci
- 30 g farina di mandorle
- un pizzico di sale
- 1/4 cucchiaino buccia grattugiata di arancia o limone bio
- 85 g burro freddo non salato tagliato a pezzetti
- un uovo codice 0, leggermente sbattuto per mescolare albume e tuorlo
Per il ripieno:
- 2 uova codice 0
- 50 g zucchero fine o granulato
- 1/8 cucchiaino spezie per Lebkuchen o misto spezie alternativo (vedi Nota sotto)
- 50 g zucchero di canna biondo o zucchero semolato
- 1 cucchiaio farina di mais finissima (fumetto)
- 225 ml acqua fredda
- 1 cucchiaio e mezzo / 22,5 ml aceto di sidro di mele
Nota: Lebkuchengewürz è un misto di spezie (che si trova già pronto) tra le quali prevale la cannella. Ce ne sono molte versioni Quello che uso per questa ricetta contiene anche coriandolo, anice stellato, scorza d'arancia e limone, noce moscata, finocchio, chiodi di garofano e cardamomo. Potete sostituirlo con in misto di cannella, zenzero e un pochino di noce moscata.
Fare la pasta frolla
Mettere zucchero e farine nel robot e pulsare alcune volte. Aggiungere il burro e pulsare un po' di volte per 3 secondi per sabbiare. Vuotare il contenitore del robot sulla superficie di lavoro.
[Se non avete il robot, lavorare il burro nel misto di farine e zucchero con le dita.]
Disporre gli ingredienti a fontana e versare l'uovo nel centro. Incorporarlo con una forchetta e poi con le dita.
Lavorare l'impasto solo fino a quando si forma un composto coeso. Se necessario, usare un pochino di farina 00 per infarinare le mani.
Formare un disco piatto di 2,5 cm di spessore e avvolgerlo nella pellicola. Far riposare la pasta frolla in frigorifero per almeno due ore. Io di solito la preparo di sera e poi la utilizzo il giorno dopo.
Preparare la base della crostata
Per cuocere la crostata consiglio di usare una teglia per quiche (col bordo scanalato) di 23-24 cm di diametro, alta almeno 2,5 cm e col fondo che si separa dal bordo.
Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la pasta frolla. Potete stendere la pasta su un pezzo di carta da forno o sulla pellicola in cui era avvolta. Questo rende poi più facile trasferirla sulla teglia.
Infarinare leggermente la superficie della pasta frolla e la superficie su cui la stendete. Tenere a portata di mano un poco di farina per infarinare al bisogno.
Se la pasta frolla è dura, premerla con il matterello cominciando dal centro del disco. Muovere il matterello di una larghezza e premere di nuovo. Ruotare la pasta frolla di 90 gradi e ripetere. Quando si è ammorbidita abbastanza, cominciare a stenderla con delicatezza fino ad uno spessore di 3 mm.
Trasferire la pasta frolla sulla teglia e premerla tutt'intorno in modo che il fondo sia ben coperto. Se usate carta da forno o pellicola, rovesciare la pasta frolla sulla teglia e rimuovere il supporto con delicatezza.
Tagliare la pasta frolla in eccesso intorno al bordo ed utilizzarla dove non ce n'è abbastanza o per formare un bordo di larghezza uniforme. Dovrebbe avanzare solo una piccola quantità di pasta frolla che potete utilizzare per fare il bordo più spesso o un paio di frollini.
Punzecchiare il fondo con i rebbi di una forchetta in diversi punti. Mettere in frigorifero mentre preparate il forno.
Cuocere in bianco la base della crostata
Scaldare il forno a 177 C.
Tirare fuori dal frigorifero la teglia. Coprire la pasta frolla con un pezzo di carta da forno o di alluminio e distribuire sulla superficie i pesi da pasticceria (vedi foto sopra).
Infornare e cuocere per 20 minuti, poi sfornare e tirare via la carta o alluminio con i pesi. Infornare e cuocere per altri 10 minuti, poi sfornare e mettere da parte.
Mentre la base cuoce in forno, preparare il ripieno.
Preparare il ripieno
In una ciotola, sbattere con la frusta le uova con la prima quantità di zucchero fino a che si formino delle bolle. Aggiungere le spezie e sbattere ancora un poco per incorporarle.
In un pentolino, mescolare la seconda quantità di zucchero e la farina di mais, poi aggiugere acqua e aceto mescolando con la frusta. Portare ad ebollizione, mescolando fino a quando sia sciolto lo zucchero. Togliere il pentolino da fuoco. Versare molto lentamente il liquido nella ciotola con le uova mescolando costantemente con la frusta.
Versare il composto nel pentolino e scaldarlo su fiamma bassa mescolando costantemente con un cucchiaio di legno fino a quando raggiunge la temperatura di 80 C o vela il lato convesso del cucchiaio (nella foto in alto si vede che la riga tracciata dal mio dito rimane pulita). Evitare che il liquido giunga a bollore. Immergere il pentolino in acqua fredda e mescolare brevemente. Tirare fuori il pentolino dall'acqua. Se la base della crostata non è ancora pronta, coprire la superficie del ripieno con un pezzo di carta oleata.
Riempire e cuocere la crostata
Assicurarsi che il forno sia a 177 C.
Versare lentamente il ripieno nella base e infornare. Cuocere per 30 minuti o fino a quando il ripieno si sia addensato. Dopo 20 minuti, o anche prima se necessario, coprire il bordo della crostata con della pellicola di alluminio per evitare che imbrunisca.
Sfornare e far raffreddare leggermente su una griglia. Se avete usato una teglia col fondo che si separa, staccare il bordo.
Far raffreddare ancora un po' sulla griglia, poi con l'aiuto di una spatola larga, far scivolare la crostata su un piatto da portata. Fatela freddare del tutto prima di tagliarla e servirla.
10-12 porzioni
Ho fatto questa crostata diverse volte per mettere a punto la ricetta, compreso il Giorno del Rngraziamento. Tradizionale? Non lo so, ma so che è stata molto gradita sulla tavola della festa.
Con questa ricetta partecipo alla tredicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. M come Minneapolis (Stati Uniti) è ospitata da me, Simona di briciole.
E' perfetta Simona la tua crostata, non pensavo si potesse mettere l'aceto di mele nella crema!
(l'aceto di mele è la stessa cosa del sidro di mele? :) )
Posted by: lucia | December 03, 2014 at 01:03 AM
I love a custard tart! The vinegar in this is fascinating!
Posted by: Alicia (foodycat) | December 03, 2014 at 01:07 AM
My oh my, pass that vinegar pie for me to try! Looks lovely and I enjoyed the snippets you chose from the book.
Posted by: rachel | December 03, 2014 at 06:57 AM
Grazie Lucia. Anche io ero molto perplessa, ma poi mi sono dovuta piacevolmente ricredere. Non ho fatto in tempo a mettere la traduzione in italiano, ma spero di farcela, cosi' poi il procedimento e' chiaro.
Grazie per la domanda: no, il sidro di mele e' una bevanda alcoolica, mentre l'aceto di sidro di mele (o aceto di mele) e' proprio un aceto e dovresti riuscire a trovarlo nel reparto condimenti del supermercato. E' un aceto delicato e aromatico.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 03, 2014 at 07:13 AM
Hi Alicia: totally. It's one of those recipes that you look at it and you think that it won't work, but it does and beautifully.
Thank you, Rachel. You could try to make it with a gluten-free crust, since the filling already is. In this recent recipe for peach tart, I made a crust that was almost gluten free. My goal is to get to a totally GF crust and I hope I'll have time to experiment soon.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 03, 2014 at 07:18 AM
Complimenti per la ricetta interessante.
Posted by: marcocostarelli | December 03, 2014 at 07:40 AM
Very cool idea, I think I'm in the same boat as you. If I find an unusual food, I feel compelled to try and make it. Glad you had delicious results this time.
Posted by: Kalinda | December 03, 2014 at 09:16 AM
Grazie Marco.
Thanks, Kalinda. I couldn't get this out of my mind until I tried it.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 03, 2014 at 05:17 PM
Interesting-sounding story and definitely an interesting-sounding pie/tart. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Posted by: Paz | December 03, 2014 at 11:48 PM
Wow, the tart looks spectacular! And how interesting that it calls for vinegar. Our butter tarts have vinegar in them but they don't look nearly as fine and delicate as this lovely crostata con crema all'aceto (it sounds SO much better in Italian than in English!)
Posted by: Elizabeth | December 04, 2014 at 08:37 PM
Beautiful Tart. Thanks so much for hosting this month. I love when someone chooses a book that I would not normally pick up by myself. It keeps life fresh and interesting.
Posted by: Wendy Klik | December 05, 2014 at 10:23 AM
Thank you, Elizabeth. The delicacy of flavor was one thing that surprised me.
Thank you, Wendy and you are welcome :)
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 05, 2014 at 11:18 AM
G'day Looks wonderful and congrats on hosting this month's Cook The Books Challenge!
Cheers! Joanne
Posted by: Joanne T Ferguson | December 05, 2014 at 08:42 PM
Yes, please, I would like a slice. Thanks again for picking this book and hosting this round, Simona.
Posted by: Debra | December 06, 2014 at 06:58 AM
Thank you, Joanne.
I wish it were possible to offer you one through the screen, Debra. You are welcome.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 06, 2014 at 07:27 AM
You are welcome, Paz.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 06, 2014 at 04:16 PM
That looks delicious! Thank you so much for hosting!
Posted by: Amy CookingAdventures | December 07, 2014 at 07:21 PM
That is one gorgeous tart. You made that vinegar pie so elegant! ;-) I had heard of vinegar pie before the book but had not thought it sounded that good until I saw your tart--now I want to try it.
Great review and an excellent book choice for me as it wasn't something I would have likely read on my own and once I got into it, I really enjoyed the story and all of the colorful characters. Thanks for hosting.
Posted by: Deb in Hawaii | December 07, 2014 at 09:25 PM
You are welcome, Amy. It tastes delicious too :)
Let yourself be tempted, Deb. It's really an interesting flavor. I am glad you enjoyed the book. It was, as always, a pleasure to host.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 08, 2014 at 07:32 AM
The vinegar gives new meaning to the word 'tart', eh? I'm intrigued by the idea... Sounds like an interesting story, by the way. A shy, sympathetic central character who wants to start an industrial hog farm—is an unusual premise, to say the least!
Posted by: Frank @Memorie di Angelina | December 09, 2014 at 04:52 AM
It does, Frank ;) The protagonist is not a hero and that is a challenge for the writer and the reader. He is a nice guy engaged in doing something he knows people don't want. I feel that in many ways the landscape is the true protagonist of the story, shaping people's lives.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 09, 2014 at 01:06 PM
The tart looks amazing and the linens are gorgeous-love the image in sepia!
Posted by: Lynne | December 13, 2014 at 05:13 AM
Thank you Lynne. The tart has become part of my dessert repertoire. I almost didn't try to view the image in sepia, but I am glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised how nice it looked. Glad you like the linens: they are an example of made in Italy at its best.
Posted by: Simona Carini | December 13, 2014 at 02:03 PM