rjw@ptsfc.UUCP (Rod Williams) (11/27/85)
A while back I mentioned I had a recipe for Pate Brisee which was
"better than Julia Child's" and promised to post it eventually.
Well, eventually has arrived! This comes from Jean Anderson's
Processor Cooking (William Morrow, 1979. She recommends this for
savory rather than sweet purposes, but I find its relative
blandness offsets the icky sweetness of a fruit tart perfectly.
Makes enough for one single-crust 9- or 10-inch pie
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
half-teaspoon salt
quarter-cup (half stick) refrigerator-cold unsalted butter,
cut into thin pats
third-cup refrigerator-cold lard or vegetable shortening,
[she means Crisco], cut into small chunks
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons lemon juice
third-cup cold water
In a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade [those words
always shift me into culinary overdrive :-)], place the flour, baking
powder and salt; snap the motor on and off [or use that new-fangled
pulse option] to combine the dry ingredients. Add the butter and lard
[Crisco] to the work bowl, distributing them as evenly as possible
over the surface of the dry ingredients, then cut the fats into the
flour, using two or three 1-second churnings of the motor [pulses].
The mixture should be quite coarse and crumbly, about the texture of
uncooked oatmeal. In a small bowl combine the egg yolks, lemon juice
and water, whisking lightly with a fork. With the work bowl cover off,
pour the combined liquids into the work bowl, distributing them as
evenly as possible over the surface of the fat-flour mixture. Re-cover
the work bowl, switch the motor on and let run 5 or 6 seconds non-stop,
just until the pastry forms into a ball that rides up on the chopping
blade's central spindle. Snap the motor off immediately so that you
don't risk over-mixing the pastry. Place pastry on a lightly-floured
bread board and knead briskly with your hands four or five times; wrap
in wax paper [I prefer saran wrap - it's more airtight] and refrigerate
at least three hours before rolling.
OK - while your pastry is relaxing, you can get to work on the
Creme Patissiere. I have a recipe for that (from the Silver Palate
Cookbook - no home should be without it) which is also better than
Julia Child's. Now don't get me wrong, Julia is normally my bible for
such staples, but I've tried her Creme Patissiere several times and
always end up with sweet wallpaper paste. Not the case with the Silver
Palate - I'll post that one...um...eventually.
Bon appetit,
--
rod williams | {ihnp4,dual}!ptsfa!ptsfc!rjw
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pacific bell | san ramon | california