MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR APPLES

It’s apple season – enjoy these recipes to make the most of the autumn fruit.

This autumn, make the most of your apples with these delicious sweet and savoury apple recipes, which your family will love and your kitchen will be smelling divine.

Here’s a 3-meal course idea you can cook up if you’re hosting this season.

Starter: Celeriac and apple soup with bacon and parsley

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

500g (roughly 3) eating apples

50g butter

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 onions – chopped

1 celeriac – cut into chunks

1 large carrot – cut into slices

2 garlic cloves – crushed

2 medium potatoes – peeled and cut into chunks

1 small bunch fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1.3 litres vegetable or chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE GARNISH:

1 tsp sunflower oil

Smoked bacon

4 tbsp crème fraîche

2 tbsp milk

Parsley

METHOD:

1. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters and remove the cores. Cut the apples into thick slices. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry the apple pieces over a medium heat until lightly browned, turning regularly. Transfer the apple pieces to a plate and return the pan to the heat.
2. Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan, gently fry the onions, celeriac and carrot for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, apples, potatoes, thyme and bay leaf.
3. Pour the stock into the pan, season with black pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 25 minutes or until the celeriac and carrots are very soft.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Remove the thyme stalks and bay leaf and discard. Cool slightly and blend the soup with a stick blender until very smooth.
5. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
6. For the garnish, brush the oil over the inside of a small non-stick frying pan and fry the bacon until browned and crisp.
7. Mix the crème fraîche with the milk in a small bowl until smooth.
8. Reheat the soup gently just before serving.
9. Drizzle the crème fraîche mixture into each bowl of soup. Cut the bacon into pieces and put on top. Finish the garnish by sprinkling the parsley over the top.

Main Course: Pork chops with apples and cider

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Serves 4

Good thing about this dish is you can either cook it quickly in high heat or cook it for hours on low.

INGREDIENTS:

4 pork chops

Salt and black pepper

Olive oil

1 large onion or 2 small ones – peeled and chopped

A couple of eating apples – cut into wedges

A few fresh sage leaves

A few juniper berries – squashed

A glass of dry cider

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6
2. Season the chops with salt and fresh black pepper. In a large shallow ovenproof pan, heat the olive oil and fry the rind of each pork chop. Then lightly fry each side a minute or so to get the outside crusty and golden brown, and remove from pan. Add the onion to the same pan with the pork juices and brown a little before adding in the apple wedges and sage leaves with the juniper berries.
3. Add the chops into the pan, and nestle them among the apples and onions, along with the remaining whole apples. Pour over the cider, just enough to cover the ingredients, season to taste and place in the oven for about half an hour, or until the pork and apple are cooked.

Dessert: Brioche apple pudding

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

Half brioche loaf – cut into slices

175g butter – softened

175g caster sugar

175g ground almonds

1 tsp almond extract

3 eggs – beaten

25g plain flour

2 red dessert apples – cored and sliced (skin on)

2 tbsp apricot jam

1 tbsp flaked almonds – toasted

Icing sugar – for dusting

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180F Fan/Gas 6. Grease a shallow ovenproof dish.
2. Arrange the brioche in the dish to cover the base, filling in all the gaps, but do not overlap the slices.
3. Put the butter and caster sugar into a food processor and whizz until light and creamy. Add the ground almonds, almond extract, eggs and flour and whizz again until soft and smooth, but do not over mix.
4. Spoon the mixture over the brioche base and spread to the sides of the dish. Arrange the sliced apples on top in overlapping circles. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until lightly golden all over.
5. Melt the jam with 2 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan. Brush the jam over the pudding and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.