Gluten-Free Apple Tart -- A Little Sweetness After a Saturday in Grinnell

I drove to Grinnell Saturday. Roger was in the garden — the garden that is his whole world now, the 82-year-old man who tends six tomato plants and twelve sunflowers with the same care he once gave four hundred acres. He's slower but he's still Roger. He still watches the crop reports. He still calls Jack on Wednesdays.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made cherry tomato pasta earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The garden at peak production — tomatoes by the bushel, corn taller than Jack (which is saying something now, the boy is tall), peppers in every color, the zucchini in its annual attempt to conquer the neighborhood. I've left three on the neighbors' porch. They know. Everyone knows. The zucchini phase is endured, not discussed.

I came home from Grinnell with a head full of Roger’s sunflowers and the particular peace that comes from watching someone tend living things with patience and no hurry at all. The zucchini was already handled, the hotdish already eaten, and what I wanted was something simple and fruit-forward—something that honored the season without demanding too much. This gluten-free apple tart is exactly that: a little sweetness, a good crust, and the kind of recipe that lets you stand at the counter and just breathe.

Gluten-Free Apple Tart

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• For the filling:
• 3 medium apples (such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam or preserves
• 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

1. Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. Make the crust. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the cold butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beaten egg and stir until a soft dough forms.
3. Press and chill. Press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the prepared tart pan. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
4. Prep the apples. Toss sliced apples with 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the cinnamon, and lemon juice in a large bowl until evenly coated.
5. Arrange the filling. Remove the crust from the freezer. Fan the apple slices in overlapping concentric circles over the crust, starting from the outside edge and working inward. Drizzle the melted butter over the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
6. Bake. Bake for 32–36 minutes, until the crust is golden at the edges and the apples are tender and lightly caramelized at the tips. If the crust edges brown too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
7. Glaze and cool. Warm the apricot jam with the water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Brush gently over the warm apples for a light glaze. Allow the tart to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 225 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 80mg