Rustic Apple Pie

To prepare pastry: In a food processor with knife blade attached, blend flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time pulsing after each addition, until large moist crumbs just begin to form.

Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into a disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a cookie sheet on rack in lower third of the preheating oven to bake pie on later.

To prepare apple filling: In a large bowl, combine sugar with cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat evenly.

On a lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll the larger disk of dough into 12-inch round. Ease dough into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass or ceramic pie plate. Gently press dough against bottom and up side of plate without stretching. Trim dough edges, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Spoon apple mixture into pie crust; dot with butter.

Roll remaining disk for top crust into a 12-inch round. Center the round over the filling. Trim pastry edges, leaving 1-inch overhang; reserve trimmings. Fold overhang under; bring it up over pie-plate rim and pinch to form a stand-up edge, then make a decorative edge however you like. Brush crust with some egg white. Cut short slashes in the top crust, to allow steam to escape during baking. Then sprinkle crust with sugar.

Bake pie 1 hour 10 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with knife through the slits in the crust. To prevent over-browning, cover pie loosely with a tent of foil after 40 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack 3 hours to serve warm. Serve a la mode, with vanilla ice cream.