Apple tart with a nutty, freekeh pastry crust

Use wholemeal flour if you cannot find einkorn, but do grind your own freekeh flour (by putting the kernels in a spice or coffee grinder) to get the authentic taste of the Middle East.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

150 g freekeh flour

75g einkorn flour

30g vanilla sugar

125 g unsalted butter

1 egg yolk + 2 tbsp ice cold water 3 tbsp apricot jam, to glaze 100 g ground hazelnuts

For the apple filling:

6 eating apples

50g vanilla sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsp apple juice

100g golden raisins

2 tbsp calvados or brandy

2 tsp lemon thyme

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp demerara sugar

3 tbsp apricot jam to glaze

METHOD

Grind the freekeh into a fine flour and blitz with the einkorn, sugar and butter in an electric mixer until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and ice cold water to the flour mixture until it comes together as a soft pastry. Flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

For the apple filling: peel, core and quarter 4 of the apples. Place in a pan with the vanilla sugar, cinnamon and apple juice. Cover with a tightfitting lid and place over low heat to for 10-15 minutes until the apples are just beginning to soften but still holding their shape. Remove from the heat and set aside

Place the golden raisins in a small pan with the calvados, heat gently for 2-3 minutes, turn off heat and leave to cool

Preheat oven to 190°C, roll out the pastry on a floured surface until 3mm thick, and line the bottom and sides of a 23cm pie dish. Place baking parchment over the pastry, fill with baking beans, bake blind for 10 minutes before removing the paper & beans and returning the pie to the oven for a further 5 minutes until golden brown.

Spread the ground hazelnuts over the pastry base, mix the raisins with the stewed apple quarters and fill the pie case with the mixture.

Leaving the skin on the remaining 2 apples, core and slice them very thinly, cover the filling with overlapping apple slices. Drizzle with honey and thyme leaves, sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is crisp and the apples soft and slightly charred at the edges. Set aside to cool,

Warm the apricot jam in a pan with 2 tablespoons of hot water and pass through a sieve.

Glaze the tart with the jam and serve with crème fraiche or thick double cream.