Image: Husk Nashville
‘Tis the season for holiday hosting, and while many Southerners have a tried and true repertoire of apps and desserts in their cookbooks, pastry chef Rachel Rathgeb at Husk Nashville has an elevated take on a regional favorite: fried apples.
Using Kenny’s Norwood cheese, pie dough, and thyme, it’s a layered (literally) delicacy that’ll wow your guests during any holiday gathering.
Chef Rachel shares the dish is a convergence of apple pie with cheddar cheese popular in the Midwest and New England combined with the South’s classic fried apples (which, according to your favorite meat-and-three, counts as a vegetable).
“I thought about different ways of eating them as opposed to just on the side of a main dish, and thought that it would be ideal to eat with something similar to a cracker and cheese or chip and dip,” chef Rachel shares. “This led me to use a buttery pie dough as the cracker. I wanted the rest of it to be a choose-your-own-adventure type of dish with the pieces of cheese and cheese custard, leaving it to be as savory or sweet as you choose.”
Husk is a Charleston-born Southern institution that made its way to Nashville in 2013. Tucked in a historic home just outside the city center, it draws visitors in droves hungry for dressed up grits, proper Southern biscuits, and hearty mains.
Take a page out of chef Rachel’s cookbook and try your hand at this slightly sweet, slightly savory side this season.
Kenny’s Norwood, Fried Apples, Pie Dough, Thyme
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 3 pounds Flour
- 2 pounds Butter cubed but cold
- 473 grams Ice Water
- 50 grams Sugar
- 18 grams Baking Powder
- 24 grams Salt
Cheese Custard
- 272 grams Yolks room temp
- 408 grams Milk
- 408 grams Cream
- 960 grams Norwood grated
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
Apples
- 1380 grams Apples
- 278 grams Sugar
- 6.5 grams Salt
- 490 grams Water
- 160 grams Brown sugar
- 4 Sprigs of thyme
- Lemon juice
Instructions
Pie Dough
- Preheat oven to 325
- In a large bowl mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt)
- Add in butter and work the butter into small, flat pieces with your hands (looking for pieces generally the size of peas but flat. It’s okay if some are bigger.)
- Add in your ice water and work into the dough folding and kneading kind of like you’re trying to make layers within the dough. It may not look totally hydrated and pretty shaggy but that’s okay!
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic in one pound portions and allow it to rest in the fridge overnight (Do not leave them in the fridge for longer than two or three days or it will oxidize. They freeze very well.)
- If using a pasta roller, sheet the dough on the lowest setting. If not, roll dough into thin sheets by hand
- Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with Maldon then bake at 325 until golden brown
Cheese Custard
- In a pot, heat the milk, salt, and cream until simmering
- Temper in the egg yolks then return to the burner and cook until thickened (another 3-5 minutes) stirring constantly
- Pour the milk mixture over the grated cheese and allow it to melt
- Mix together well, then, if everything is not completely melted, place everything in a bowl and melt over a water bath until completely smooth
- Wrap with plastic touching the surface and cool completely
- Portion into piping bags
Apples
- Peel and slice apples
- Place everything into a pot and cook over low heat stirring pretty frequently
- We are looking for the apples to become sort of translucent but still hold their shape. It takes about 20-30 minutes
Putting it All Together
- On a plate, shingle alternating layers of pie dough and thinly sliced cheese
- In a separate, smaller dish place your apples
- Around the edge of the dish pipe the cheese custard
- Garnish the custard with a few leaves of thyme
Notes
- This is meant to be eaten as a “make your perfect bite” kind of situation. You can use the pie crust as a vessel by breaking it into bite size pieces, placing a piece of cheese on that, adding a smear of the cheese custard, and then a piece of apple.
- Plate the pie crust and cheese just as you would cheese and crackers.
- The apples and cheese custard can be plated as something more resembling a dip.
- Place both items in separate bowls with utensils or together as they do at the restaurant.
- Cheese: A firm or semi-firm cheese would be best. A cheddar or gouda option would be well-suited for this recipe.
- Pie Dough: Could easily be purchased at a grocery store and baked at home. Pillsbury Pie Crust is a good option. Puff pastry could also be a great substitute as it has the same flaky texture. Crackers also would work.
