Prepare the pastry and refrigerate it until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Combine the currants, walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set
aside.
Select an ovenproof skillet that measures 9 inches across the bottom and 11 to
12 inches across the top. (A cast-iron skillet works well and makes a home-style
presentation.) Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat, then stir in the
brown sugar and raspberry preserves (or syrup). When the mixture is bubbling
evenly over the surface of the pan -- 30 seconds or so -- remove pan from the
heat.
Do not peel the apples; the peels will help them to hold together. Halve them
top to bottom, however, and core each half. (A melon baller does a good job.)
Spoon some of the currant-walnut mixture into each apple half, compacting it
with a finger.
Quickly invert the stuffed apple halves and place the them cut side down in the
skillet. You should be able to get 6 or 7 around the outside and 1 in the
center. Finely dice the remaining apple half, if left over, and scatter the
pieces between the apples. Sprinkle the leftover currant-nut mixture between the
apples.
Roll out all of the pastry between two sheets of waxed paper into a 12-inch
circle. After removing the top sheet of paper, invert the pastry over the
apples, center it and peel off the other sheet of paper.
Lifting the edge of the pastry, either tuck the edge straight down along the
inside of the pan or pinch it to crimp the edge. Poke two large vent holes in
the pastry with a paring knife, twisting the knife to enlarge the holes
slightly.
Lightly brush the pastry with the eggwash and sprinkle surface with sugar. Place
the pie directly on the center oven rack and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the
oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the top crust is golden brown,
another 25 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes or to
room temperature before serving.
