Borrowing and adapting

A few weeks ago, Niki of Esurientes made a gorgeous tarte tatin, playing with the recipe to give it a distinctive Middle-eastern flair.

Normally, Matt won't touch pies, especially fruit pies. But, it turns out, he really likes apple pie. So I grabbed yet another recipe from Niki's site (thanks by the way), and finally made my own version this weekend.

I didn't have time to make the Danish pastry Niki also (and generously) provided, so I used the recommended puff pastry in it's place.

Two other, no-choice, changes I made: we were out of rosewater, so I used rose syrup, although much less of it. And because we were out of pistachios, I threw in a handful of sliced almonds instead.

Thankfully, we have an apple peeler, which made the job so much easier. I also stuck with Niki's suggestion of Pink Lady apples.

I used a very large cast iron skillet, and was amazed at how simple this recipe was. It came together very quickly, although lifting the skillet took some strength!

Matt really liked it. He definitely picked up the flavors, and felt they were true to their region. I think his words were something to the effect of 'it won't become my favorite, but this is really good'. He also suggested using a real pastry next time; the puff pastry just wasn't up to par, with the rest of the dish.

But considering how easy it was, it's sure to make an appearance now and then.

Thanks, Niki!