In autumn, apples have nowhere to go. What to cook with them?

As many as five recipes (this time without charlotte!)

In the spring, we enthusiastically admire the apple blossoms in the country, and in the fall we traditionally shrug our hands - what to do with all this harvest? In September, bags and trunks of apples are traditionally brought from the dacha, which cannot be digested (in every sense) even by the forces of all close and distant relatives. Gastronomic journalist Victoria Boyarskaya urges not to despair and offers five recipes: for preparations for the winter, and for a hearty dinner that can be arranged at least this coming weekend. And we (spoiler) will tell you about the perfect charlotte next time!

"Transparent" Antonovka jam

Apples are far from the most obvious product for making jam: if you just start boiling them with sugar, by analogy with berries, they are very soft, turning into a shapeless and overly sweet mass. To avoid this, cook the most acidic late varieties - Antonovka is best. You will have to master some subtleties and immerse yourself in a leisurely meditative process with gradual soaking, heating and cooling. But as a result, there is a chance to get a completely unique product both in terms of taste and appearance: apple slices are boiled in a thick, balanced sweet and sour syrup, become transparent and do not lose texture.

Ingredients (for about 1 kg of jam):

One kilogram of Antonovka; 40 grams of citric acid; 20 grams of salt; 40 grams of baking soda; one kilogram of sugar; four cinnamon sticks; 1 vanilla pod (cut lengthwise into 4 pieces)

Cooking:

Before you start processing apples, prepare a soaking solution: combine in a large deep bowl (a basin or even a bucket will do) one and a half liters of cold water, citric acid and salt.

Cut the washed apples one by one into quarters, immediately clearing the cuttings and removing the core. Carefully cut each quarter into three or four wedges. Immediately place each finished slice in the soaking solution so that the apples do not darken.

Let the apple slices soak in the solution for 30-40 minutes.

Prepare a new soak solution. This time you need to combine one and a half liters of cold water with soda and mix thoroughly.

Rinse the apples soaked in an acidic solution in running cold water, place in a soda solution, put a load on top - a flat plate will do. It is necessary that the liquid completely covers the apples. Leave them in the soda solution for ten minutes, and then rinse again.

Layer prepared apple slices in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, sprinkling each layer with sugar, placing a cinnamon stick and part of the vanilla pod on it. It is important that it is not filled more than two thirds of the volume, because during the cooking process the jam will “boil” and rise. Leave the pan, tightly covered, for three to four hours - during this time the apples will give juice.

After the required time has elapsed, you can start cooking apples. This is a slow process, consisting of several approaches. It will not require you to do anything other than turning the stove on and off. To begin with, without touching, without stirring (and without even opening the lid!) Bring the contents of the pan to a boil over low heat, let the jam boil for 10-15 minutes and turn off the heat. Leave the mass to cool completely for at least an hour.

Then, in the same way, without stirring, bring the mass to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, and then completely cool twice more.

After the jam boils for the fourth time, it must be boiled for the last 10-15 minutes, and then practically boiled, put into sterile glass jars, close with lids and allow to cool completely.

apple chutney

An alternative to traditional apple jam is chutney, a thick Indian sauce. It makes sense to cook it in a large saucepan, arrange it in small jars and gradually take it out of the refrigerator all the coming autumn and winter. Chutney goes well with a wide variety of foods: it will elevate everyday chicken or turkey sandwiches to a new level, and during a festive dinner it will go well with any roasted vegetables or meat. You can and should experiment with apple varieties, adjusting the balance of acid, sweetness and spiciness during the cooking process.

Ingredients:

Two heads of onions; 800 grams of apples; one ginger root (a piece four centimeters long); one teaspoon of ground cinnamon; half a teaspoon of ground coriander; three tablespoons of cane sugar; four teaspoons of butter (regular or ghee); juice of one lemon; one teaspoon of ground cumin; half a teaspoon of ground white pepper; half a teaspoon of ground black pepper; salt to taste; 1 to 2 tablespoons Indian mango pickles (available at Indian spice stores) or chili peppers

Cooking:

Peel and core apples, cut into small cubes.

Immediately put the cubes in a deep bowl, season with cinnamon and coriander, mix. In the same bowl, finely grate the ginger root.

Onion cut into medium-sized cubes.

Melt the butter in a deep saucepan, put the onion there and fry for about five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and let it melt slightly, stirring constantly.

Put apples with ginger and spices in a saucepan, mix thoroughly and cook everything together for three to five minutes.

Pour one glass of water into the onion-apple mass, add spices and lemon juice. Reduce the heat and simmer the chutney until the apples are completely soft. You can cook the sauce for longer, until it becomes almost completely homogeneous - this is a matter of taste.

A few minutes before the end of cooking, salt the chutney to taste and add the finished canned pickles - this will give the sauce an extra spiciness, so it's best to add a little and taste.

Place the hot chutney in a glass jar, and after it has cooled, put it in the refrigerator.

Chicken liver pate with baked apples

Homemade pate with baked apples and calvados on toast or baguette slices is the best addition to cider.

Ingredients :

Half a kilo of chicken liver; one head of onion; two or three pieces of sour apples, 100 grams of butter; 50 grams of balsamic vinegar; 20 grams of Calvados (can be replaced with other strong alcohol); salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:

Cut the apples in half, remove the cuttings and cores and place in a baking dish. Put in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for an hour.

While the apples are baking, clean the chicken liver from the membranes and large veins, trying not to turn it into a puree.

Cut the onion into medium dice. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan well, put a third of the butter there, let it melt and add the onion. Fry until deep caramel brown and remove from heat. Transfer the onion to the blender bowl and return the pan to the heat.

Melt another third of the butter, fry the liver for five to seven minutes, pour the calvados and balsamic vinegar into the pan, heat everything together for another three minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Transfer the liver, along with the resulting sauce, to the blender bowl with the onions.

Remove the baked apples from the oven, carefully remove the soft pulp from the skin with a spoon and also put it in a blender. Add the rest of the butter there.

Beat the pâté until smooth, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pork belly garnished with baked apples and red cabbage

Roast pork, apples, and kale is a basic combo that needs no further guidance, but can be a little over-complicated for a casual dinner. We offer a simple option: you only need to prepare the ingredients and put them in the correct order in a common large baking dish, and then bake for an hour. This dinner will cook itself.

Dinner ingredients for two:

Half a kilo of pork belly; three pieces of apples, one tablespoon of salt; five to six black peppercorns; one or two stars of anise; five pieces of dried cloves; one cinnamon stick; one glass of dry white wine; 300 grams of red cabbage; juice of one orange; juice of a quarter of a lemon; three tablespoons of sugar, vegetable oil.

Cooking:

Grease a large baking dish with vegetable oil. Cut the apples in half, remove the cores and place cut side up in the middle of a baking dish. Place immediately in the oven preheated to 180 degrees.

Combine wine and one liter of water in a saucepan, add salt, black pepper, anise, cloves and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, put the pork belly into the broth and cook for 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a casserole dish (spray the bottom with additional oil if needed): slide the apples to the side and place the brisket side by side, skin side down. Return the mold to the oven immediately.

Cut the red cabbage into two equal slices. Put each one on a slotted spoon and lower for one minute into the boiling broth where the pork used to be cooked. After a minute, remove the cabbage from the broth and place on a towel, allowing excess liquid to drain. Arrange the cabbage slices in a baking dish next to the pork. Drizzle liberally with vegetable oil and return to the oven.

For the sauce, take one full glass of pork broth, combine with orange and lemon juice, add sugar. Pour the contents of the mold with the resulting sauce and cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake everything together for another 15 minutes.

To serve, place a slice of red cabbage on each plate. Place the baked apple halves next to it. Cut the pork belly into cubes directly in the form, mix with the sauce and put on top of a slice of cabbage.

Gingerbread with apples and caramel sauce

When there are still a lot of apples in your life, you can make a pie - a little more complicated than charlotte. Use the spiced gingerbread dough as a base and soak the finished biscuit with caramel sauce.

Ingredients:

For the biscuit: 250 grams of Greek (or just thick) yogurt without additives; 100 grams of sugar; two eggs; half a teaspoon of ground ginger; ground cinnamon on the tip of a knife; zest and juice of one lemon; 300 grams of flour; a teaspoon (with a slide) of baking powder; a third of a teaspoon of salt; 100 milliliters of vegetable oil; three to four apples (or more, according to the size of the baking dish).

For caramel sauce: 50 grams of butter; 100 grams of sugar; 150 milliliters of milk.

Cooking :

Peel apples from cuttings and cores and cut into slices. Place in a bowl and pour over lemon juice.

In a deep bowl, combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, ginger, cinnamon and lemon zest. Mix thoroughly.

Separately combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add the dry mixture to the yogurt-egg mixture and mix, not too zealous - if small lumps remain, it's okay.

Gradually pour in vegetable oil and knead the mixture until completely homogeneous.

Pour the batter into a deep baking dish (you can use a springform). Put apples on top - you can do it in a neat spiral or “lazy”, in a chaotic manner.

Place the cake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 45 minutes. Check for doneness with a stick - it should come out dry from the center of the pie. If the cake does not bake in the middle, leave it in the oven a little longer with the heat turned off.

Remove the finished cake from the oven and leave without removing it from the mold. In the meantime, you can prepare the caramel sauce.

For the sauce, heat the milk in the microwave. Place butter and sugar in a small non-stick saucepan and place over medium heat. When the sugar begins to melt, stir the sauce until the mass becomes homogeneous and light brown. Pour in the hot milk immediately, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and continue to stir the sauce until it has cooled slightly.

Drizzle the apple pie with the warm sauce right in the tin.

Victoria Boyarskaya