Digging a bit deeper into the same volume of recipes as for my first apple pie I found another fennel tart mostly containing apples. Surprise of surprises, this one also contains fennel parts!
Fennel tastes a bit like aniseed giving this apple tart a fresh spring flavor.
I’ve adapted this recipe quite a bit, I was interested in the filling but didn’t have the time yet to figure out the broot mentioned in the recipe so I fell back to my now trusty hot water crust. I took it with me on my bike and the train so I abolished the pie lid as well.
Neempt plat dun breet broot ende snyt die appel al dunne ende onderlegst al met kaneel zuycker ende een lutken bloem van muscaten ende een lutken naegel ende legt al breet broot ende vol boteren ende dan strauter venckel zaet op ende dan sluijtet toe met eenen dunnen decsel ende bact ende eetet al werm des gelycks tuschen twee scotelen dan blyft daer het broot wijt
Take flat, thin and broad bread. Cut the apples very thinly, and temper them with cinnamon, sugar, a little mace and a little cloves. Put them on all the bread, covered with butter, and then sprinkle fennel seeds on it and cover with a thin lid. Bake it, and eat all hot. The same with between two dishes, the bread will then remain white.
(KANTL 15, volume 2, 15th century, Translation&transcription courtesy of Christianne Muusers)
Modern version
- 1 pie crust
- 500g apples, peeled & cored, chopped small
- 1 ts cinnamon
- 1/2 ts nutmeg
- 2-6 tbs sugar (depends on the sweetness of your apples)
- 1-2 tbs fennel seeds
- 1 tbs butter
- Make a piecrust, whichever one you like
- Mix cinnamon, nutmeg & sugar in a separate bowl
- Mix apples with sugar&spice mixture
- Fill piecrust with apples
- divide butter in small pieces and spread on top of filling
- Sprinkle fennel seeds on top
- Bake
Huys Uylenburgh 
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