SPOTLIGHTING APPLES
Peak apple season is as much a part of autumn as the falling leaves, but we seem to have become a bit ‘Ho-hum’ about it. Perhaps the varieties of apples now available all year has led us to take them for granted. Possibly, we’re distracted by the bright pumpkin displays, and the fuss over ‘Pumpkin Seasoning Mix’ (which also works with apples) Even candy apples, once featured everywhere, have become scarce and applesauce has disappeared from family menus. Sad that a fruit so fabled through history that it was chosen to traditionally top fruit displays, thus giving NYC a favorite nick-name, has become common place.
It’s not to say huge quantities of apples aren’t processed commercially. The juice, valued for itself, is the main ingredient in blended drinks, canning fruits and other foods, including some meats, making jams, jellies, condiments and lately, pharmaceuticals. The fruit itself is being overlooked nowadays.
The blame for this can most plausibly be traced to our widening palates and increasing interest in different cuisines, especially Asian ones. Although apples come from Asia and China is still the largest producer, Asians aren’t fond of eating them raw or sweetening them to make dessert-the West’s two major ways of consuming apples. Asians do use them in slaw and stir-fries, as shown by two recipes below.
This brings me to the subject of this post. Part of apples fade from the spotlight is their consistent availability and reasonable cost, but that is all the more reason to explore their possibilities now, when food prices are up. If a reasonably inexpensive ingredient can make meals special, then let’s find ways to use it. The following recipes consist of quite ordinary ingredients, and require no special cooking skills or effort. Simply making apples a component lifts them out of the everyday. It gives the dishes an upscale appeal, perfect for company, yet they’re still simple enough for a week night.
For more apple recipes other than desserts, such as Applesauce Bread, Chutney, Cream Cheese Chutney Tree, Apple Chips, Gorgonzola Apple Stuffing for Poultry, Sweet Potato Stuffed Apples, check post of
Oct 26, 2017.
For more apple dessert recipes, including Easy Apple Strudel, French Apple Pie, Dutch Apple Cake, Grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Cake, Amaretto Soufflé with Apple Pearls, Easy Mulled Cider and my own pie crust go to Nov. 2, 2017
RECIPES
Apple Compote: Yield 3 cups—A multi-use recipe. It can be served as alone as a fruit course, as an accompaniment to meat or as a dessert with whipped topping or over ice cream. A few tablespoons can be stirred into hot or cold cereal.
6 large cooking apples –Golden (NOT Red) Delicious, Granny Smith, Rome etc.
1 cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
¼ cup raisins—optional
¼ tsp. cinnamon—optional
¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts-for optional garnish
Peel, core and dice apples in ½ inch chunks. Bring sugar and water to a boil; add apples, raisins and juice. Cook until fruit is tender but not mushy. Taste if more sugar is needed, add cinnamon if desired. Serve
warm or chilled, topped with nuts if desired.
Ham, Cheese and Apple Sandwich: Serves 1
4 slices bread-Jewish rye or pumpernickel suggested, or wheat buns
Deli sliced ham and cheese-choices optional
Thin coating of mustard on bread-optional
Slice a peeled, cored apple in about 3 slices per quarter. Put in a small bowl with a light sprinkle of sugar and another of cinnamon. Add 1-2 Tbs. water or apple juice and microwave about 1min-1 min.30 sec. Store refrigerated in juice if made ahead. This prevents the apple from browning. Layer apples on bread between ham and cheese, to keep moisture from ruining bread.
Apple Soup: Serves 6
Recipe I
4 large apples-cored and chopped
1 large red onion- minced
3 Tbs. butter
1 quart chicken stock
¼ tsp. EACH nutmeg, salt, cinnamon
2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream
½ cup toasted chopped walnuts
Sauté onions and apples in butter until tender. Add stock and seasonings and blend. Simmer partially covered 10 min. Off stove, fold in half-and-half or cream. Warm to incorporate. Serve chilled or warm garnished with nuts.
Recipe II— Curried version
Replace nutmeg and cinnamon with 1 ¼ tsp. curry powder, or to taste, and reduce cream to ¾ cup. Garnish with parsley or chopped chives in place of nuts.
Asian Apple Slaw: Serves 4—From https://recipes.timesofindia.com/us/recipes/asian-apple-slaw/rs58869460.cms
2 apples
1 teaspoon fish sauce
salt as required
3 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 jicama
sugar as required
3 tablespoon lime juice
2 bunches scallions
Cut jicamas and apples into thin slices. Chop scallions and mint leaves. Keep them aside in separate bowls. Take a deep bowl and add rice vinegar, lime juice, salt, sugar and fish sauce. Mix well. Add the sliced jicamas, apples, chopped scallions and mix well. Garnish the salad with mint leaves (optional) and serve.
Cabbage and Apple Bake: Serves 4
1 medium head cabbage-finely shredded
3 Tbs. butter
2 Granny Smith apples-peeled and sliced
½ medium onion- sliced
2 Tbs. caraway seeds
2 tsp. salt
Paprika
Melt the butter in a large skillet and toss in all the ingredients to coat. Cover and cook over low for 1 hour. Serve hot. OR toss ingredients in an oven-proof casserole, cover and bake on low (300 deg.) for about an hour.
Apple Stuffing for Duck or Other Poultry: Ingredients calculated for a 4-5lb. bird
3-4 or + slices of cinnamon –raisin bread–depending on size of bird
1/3 cup raisins if using plain cinnamon bread
2 large apples -peeled cored and in large dice
1 stalk celery – sliced thin
½ medium onion diced
1 egg
2 tsp. dried sage
Salt to taste
Orange juice sufficient to moisten
Toast the bread and tear in pieces about 1 inch. Mix all the ingredients with enough orange juice to just moisten and stuff bird. Cook according to directions per pound.
Pork Normandy: Serves 4
4 slices of pork loin or boneless loin chops @ ¾ inch thick- well trimmed
4 Tbs. butter
1 large onion sliced
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 large apples cored and quartered lengthwise
½ tsp sugar
1 cup apple juice
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
1 cup heavy cream OR 1 cup ½ and ½ with 1 ½ tsp cornstarch dissolved in it.
Melt the butter in an oven proof skillet over medium heat and brown the pork well on both sides. While the meat is browning, add the onions to the skillet and cook until softened. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. * Arrange the onion around the pork, sprinkle with the cloves. Sprinkle one side of the apple slices with the sugar, and arrange them fan-like, sugar side down, on the meat 2 slices per slice or chop. Add the juice and bouillon to the pan, cover and bake 40 min. Remove meat with a spatula, careful not to disturb the fruit, to a plate to keep warm. Return the skillet with the juices to the stove over low heat, add the cream and simmer until thickened. If you want to avoid using heavy cream, substitute milk with cornstarch dissolved in it. Stir until sauce thickens. It may need a few minutes simmering to reduce. Pour over meat and serve at once.
* If not using an oven proof skillet, arrange the meat, onions and apple in a casserole dish. Deglaze the pan with the juice and bouillon and pour over the meat. Cover and bake as directed. Remove the meat to a plate to keep warm, and return the juices to the skillet, over low heat, add the cream and proceed as directed above.
Apple Chicken Stir Fry: Serves 4—From https://butteroverbae.com/easy-apple-chicken-stir-fry/
Chicken Marinade
2 chicken breast halves cut up in 1 inch cubes 200 gm
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp garlic paste
2 Tbs corn flour
Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 full Tbs honey or brown sugar
1 cup of apple juice
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
3 Tbs vinegar
Other
1 medium apple cut up in medium sized cubes
2 medium onions cut in ½ inch squares
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup oil
1 Tbs corn flour
Sesame seeds for garnish
Chopped spring onions for garnish
Marinate chicken cubes in all the spices and sauces, (except for the corn flour). Refrigerate for 30 mins at least. Add corn flour to chicken and coat evenly. Add oil in a frying pan or wok, and stir fry chicken until golden brown. Remove chicken from oil and set aside.
In the same oil, add onions and apples and stir fry at high flame. Allow the onions and apples to caramelize and get a nice brown edge. Remove the onions and apples from the oil and set aside.
In the left over oil, add chopped garlic, and stir fry until they turn golden brown. Add all the ingredients for the sauce in the pan and allow it to simmer for 3 to 4 mins at medium flame Mix corn flour with a little water to form slurry and add it to the simmering sauce. Cook for 1 to 2 mins and dump in all the chicken, onions and apples. Cook for another 2 mins to reheat all the ingredients and get the consistency of sauce you want. Top with sesame seeds and spring onions. Serve immediately with steamed rice or stir fry noodles.
Apple Dumplings: Serves 4
Pastry for a 2 crust pie* or 1 sheet puff pastry-see note below
4 cooking apples- peeled and cored
½ cup sugar + more if needed
4 drops vanilla syrup or ¼ tsp. cinnamon
Separate dough into 4 parts. Roll each to ¼ inch thickness and cut about a 6 inch square in the center. Save extra dough for another use. Trim the bottoms of the apples so they stand upright and place one in the center of each square. Fill the cores with sugar and a drop of vanilla or a pinch of cinnamon. Pull the dough up around the apple, completely covering it, pinching seams together and at the top to close**. Sprinkle tops with remaining sugar and cinnamon. Bake on a sheet at 400 deg. for 40 min. or until crisp. Serve warm or chilled, alone or with whipped cream. *NOTE: Rozanne Gold’s recipe in Recipes 1-2-3 replaces the pie crust with a sheet of puff paste. The cooking time is reduced to 20 min. Otherwise the recipes are the same
** I like to save the stem and stick it into the top, it’s decorative and defines the pastry.
Apple, Raisin, Walnut Pie
1 ½ cups chopped cooking apples
2 cups raisins
3 cups apple cider
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbs. lemon juice+ ½ tsp. zest
2Tbs.butter
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbs. cornstarch
½ cup chopped walnuts.
Double crust recipe or buy 15 oz. package of 2 dough rounds*
Roll dough and line pie pan . Dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ cup of the cider; put all the other ingredients except the walnuts in a pot and heat to boiling. Stir in cornstarch mix, and simmer, stirring until thickened. Stir in nuts. Pour into bottom crust. Top with top crust, well vented, or lattice top. Bake at450 deg.for10 min. then at 30-35 min at 350 deg. Cool before slicing.
To prepare in advance; the cooked filling can be kept chilled, in a plastic container for several days and then poured into the shell and topped before baking. The pie pan can be lined and the top crust dough kept chilled in plastic wrap for several days as well
* NOTE; I like a thin crust, so this will allow for some extra, especially if making a lattice top. Don’t use over a heaping ½ cup shortening. Store left over dough chilled and use within 10 days, or roll and freeze.
