Apple Sauce
I love apples. They are easily my favorite fruit. In the kitchen they are extremely versatile in everything from salads, sweets and savory dishes. The classic dish I suppose would be Apple Pie or perhaps Apple Crumble. Either way the success of the dish relies on the floral flavor of apples even if the spices do try to steal the show. I like to bake apples after removing the core and stuffing the fruit with brown sugar, spices and dried fruit like currants or prunes that has been reconstituted in brandy or rum. Served with custard or ice cream they make an attractive and popular sweet course.
Whenever there is roast pork on a menu the punters will invariably want their apple sauce with it and unfortunately it is often just a commercial condiment with no flavor and less character. It is so easy to make a good apple sauce that it would seem silly to buy it in and the finish that a homemade apple sauce give to a simple plate of roast pork makes it worth going to that little bit of extra effort. I like to use good sweet eating apples, my latest favorites are Pink Lady apples which are almost like a sweet Granny Smith.
Core and peel the apples and cut into quarters before putting them over a low heat with some brown sugar, a few quills of good cinnamon, a few cloves and a couple of star anise. Splash in some fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt and allow the apples to cook covered for fifteen minutes or so. Pass the cooked apples through a fine sieve to catch the spices and any seeds and to give the sauce a fine finish. Cool the apple sauce in the fridge and if a large batch is made keep the excess in small containers in the freezer.
The Wandering Chef
Chefologist 