In Myrtle Allen’s Ballymaloe cookbook she gives a recipe from her mother which she called Inexpensive Flan.
(Myrtle adds that she never discovered her Mother’s Expensive one.)

Not only is this obviously inexpensive it is also dead easy.
Myrtle’s mother’s recipe is for rolling out a circle of pastry, weighing it down and baking it blind.
Meanwhile make an apple puree, once the pastry is golden spoon the puree on the pastry and serve.

Easy as pie.

I was immediatly intrigued, but, being a chef, had to make it more complicated.

Here’s my version.

250g Puff Pastry
60 g Butter
Sugar
6/7 Apples (I used French Royal Gala- in Ireland you could use half Bramleys and half a crisper eating apple)
Some apple jelly to glaze.

Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas 6.
Roll the pastry into a large circle (as big as will fit on your largest baking tray )
Now put a tart or cake tin on top of the pastry which is about 5cm (2 ins.) smaller in diameter. Put this in the centre of the pastry so there is about an inch border all around the tin of exposed pastry.
Now put some weights (I use old dried beans) into the tart tin and bake at the set temperature for about 15 mts.
The pastry will rise up around the tin making a handy retaining wall for the apple.
Now take out the cake tin and beans and put the pastry back in the oven to brown the part covered .( about 5 mts.)

Meanwhile peel and chop half the apples (or use the bramleys) and cook these in the butter , sweetening to taste until they are soft.
Make these into a rough puree with a potato masher (the bramleys will do this themselves)

Peel quarter and core the remaining apples and slice them finely.
Spoon the puree on the pastry and then lay out the slices nicely on top.
Put these into a lower oven (180C 350F, Gas 4 ) for about 20 mts until the slices are soft.
Heat up the jelly and spoon over.
Eat within a couple of hours or the pastry base will get soggy.

Voila !