AN APPLE A DAY ....

The apple tree, Malus Domestica, is a deciduous tree of the rose family that is known for its delicious, sweet fruit, the apple.   It is a native of Asia and Europe, where it has grown for thousands of years, and was introduced to the other continents by European colonists.

The apple has religious, mythological and cultural symbolisms and connotations. 

According to Genesis, the serpent tempted Eve, who seduced Adam into eating an apple, the forbidden fruit, thus causing their expulsion from Paradise that brought about all the ills that harass mankind.

The Fall and Expulsion of Adam and Eve
 by Michelangelo

         

In Greek Mythology, a golden apple, which was supposed to be offered to the most beautiful goddess, was indirectly the cause of the Trojan war.   Paris, the prince of Troy was given the most onerous task of choosing the winner between the goddesses Hera,  Athena and Aphrodite.    Aphrodite, the goddess of love, tricked Paris by offering him, in exchange for the apple, the most beautiful woman in the world Helen, the wife of Menelaus King of Sparta.   Helen and Paris fell madly in love, boarded a ship and sailed off to Troy.

Also, in ancient Greece the apple was considered the sacred fruit of Aphrodite the goddess of love.  To throw an apple to someone was a sign of love and desire, to catch it showed acceptance and reciprocation.

The Judgement of Paris by Botticelli

In German paganism, the goddess Iounn provided the Nordic gods with apples that offered them eternal youth.

Apples are, also, considered very healthy.   Apparently, the phytonutrients contained in apples, regulate our blood sugar and the polyphenols act as antioxidants that benefit our cardiovascular system and prevent asthma attacks.    According to recent studies, polyphenols might have an ability to lower the risk of lung cancer.    So, certainly eat “an apple a day (that) keeps the doctor away”, according to the adage, and cook and bake a plethora of delectable dishes and desserts with this wonderful fruit.

A Flowering Apple Tree

Here are a few recipes prepared with apples.

                                              APPLE AND ROCKET SOUP

Red Delicious Apples

Wild Rocket

Chives

Do try this soup

6 large apples, peeled, cored and quartered

2 tbsp lemon juice

1½ litre (6 cups) chicken stock

30 g (1 oz) wild rocket, leaves only, chopped

125 ml (½ cup) low fat cream

6 tender chive stalks

Salt and pepper

Sprinkle the apple quarters with lemon juice, to prevent discolouring.   Then place them into the chicken stock and cook until the apples are almost tender.  Add the rocket leaves and cook for 10 minutes more.  Blend and sieve the soup, taste for seasoning and adjust. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Just before serving stir in the cream and sprinkle with snipped chives

          

                                        GREEN APPLE AND COURGETTE SOUP

You could use also use cucumbers for preparing this soup.

2 large onions, peeled and chopped

2 tender celery stalks, without leaves, trimmed and finely sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

6 green apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

4 tender courgettes, trimmed and sliced

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

1 litre (4 cups) or more tasty chicken or vegetable stock 

1 tbsp chopped dill

Parsley for garnish

Cook the onions and celery in butter and olive oil, until translucent add the apples and the courgettes and sauté for 5 minutes more, stirring, so that everything has become slightly limp.    Pour in the stock, cover the saucepan and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked.  

With a hand blender, mash vegetables and apples together, until smooth.   If the soup seems too thick, thin it down with extra stock.  Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.   Stir in as much dill as you prefer and simmer for two minutes more.  Serve hot, garnished with parsley.              

                                                           APPLE GLAZE

Chicken roasted with Apple Glaze

Baby Lamb with Apple Glaze

This is one of my favourite glazes for roast meat or poultry.

250 ml (1 cup) apple juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

200 g (1 cup) white or brown sugar
(You could add a liqueur glass of calvados for more savour)

Prepare the meat for roasting the way you usually do by massaging it with salt, pepper and ginger powder, and by making small slits into the lamb or pork and inserting small slivers of garlic.   Rub the poultry with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and fill the cavities with herbs of your choice.

Place all the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer gently, stirring, until the sugar melts.  Remove from the fire and add the calvados, if using.

Roast the meat or poultry for 30 minutes at 180 C (350 F) degrees.   Then baste the roast lavishly with the glaze, three or four times, until roasted to perfection.

                                     PORK FILLET WITH SPICED APPLESAUCE

This dish can be prepared with either apples or peaches. 

6 pork fillets, about 1800 kg (3 lb 10 oz) sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 scant tsp clarified butter

1 rosemary sprig
1 bay leaf, optional

A little salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 liqueur glass of Metaxa brandy

About 1 litre (4 cups) or more tasty chicken stock

7 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 tsp “four spices" (please see below)

1 – 1½ tbsp honey or more

A little lemon juice, if necessary

Four spices mix:

1 tsp ground pepper

½ tsp powdered cinnamon

½ tsp powdered cloves

½ tsp grated nutmeg

(Mix well together)

I add ½ tsp powdered ginger

125 ml (½ cup) light cream

Heat olive oil and clarified butter with the rosemary sprig and bay leaf, if using, and sauté the meat in batches.  Discard the rosemary and bay leaf (if using) and sprinkle the meat sparingly with salt and pepper.

Also discard all but 1 tbsp olive oil – clarified butter and sauté the onion, with a little salt, until it becomes limp and translucent.   Place the meat over, sprinkle with garlic and  cook for 2 minutes more.    Drizzle with brandy and simmer a few minutes more, so that the alcohol evaporates.  Arrange the apples on top and pour the chicken stock over, to cover.   Sprinkle with the spice mix and stir in the honey.    Cover the saucepan and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender.  Do not over cook.

Remove the meat and mash the apples and onions with a hand blender until smooth. Taste the sauce and season with  more salt, spice mix and honey, if necessary.  Add a little lemon juice, if using.  Place the meat into the sauce and cook for a few minutes more.   When needed, add the cream and heat the food thoroughly, but do not boil.   Serve  with steamed rice or mashed potatoes.  

      

                                                               APPLE TART

Apple tart

I don’t remember who gave me the recipe for this is a lovely lenten dessert.

Pastry:

390 g (3 cups) plain flour, mixed with

1 tsp baking powder

¾ cups margarine

A pinch of salt

1/3 tsp cinnamon

Grated rind of 1 orange

5 tbsp sugar

1 liqueur glass brandy

1 liqueur glass orange juice or a little more, if necessary

Filling:

1 cup apricot jam

½ cup chopped walnuts

6 apples, peeled, sliced and drenched with the

Juice of 1 orange

Process the margarine with the flour, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.  Add the salt, sugar, cinnamon and orange zest and whiz until well combined.  Pour in the brandy and orange juice and blend until a soft, pliable dough is obtained.  Flatten out the dough, cover and refrigerate it for at least half an hour. 

Roll out 2/3 of the dough and line the base and sides of a greased tart dish and reserve the remaining dough in the freezer, for further use.    Spread the apricot jam over the base of the tart and sprinkle, evenly, with walnuts.   Neatly arrange the apple slices on top, overlapping each other, and grate the reserved  frozen dough, evenly, over.   

Bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (350 F) for 40 minutes, then lower the heat to 160 C (340 F) and bake for 20 minutes more. 

                                           

                                                     MARY’S APPLE CAKE

Apple and Walnut Cake

My dear friend Mary Xenakis often prepared this delicious, juicy cake for us when we started learning bridge, so many years ago.   

112.5 g (1/2 cup) butter or margarine, softened

400 g (2 cups) or less sugar

2 eggs

260 g (2 cups) plain flour, reserve 1 tbsp for dusting the walnuts

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

4 small apples, finely diced

75 g (1/2 cup) coarsely chopped walnuts, dusted with the reserved flour

Sift flour with salt, baking powder and spices.

In a large bowl mix the butter, sugar and eggs, until just combined.   Then add the flour mixture,  finally, the apples and walnuts and stir, until just mixed.  

Spoon the batter into a buttered baking dish, level the top and bake in a moderate oven pre-heated to 180 C (350 F) for about 1 hour.

     

                                                     UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

                                         

A Cake with Apples and Spices

This cake can also be prepared with fresh peaches or tinned pineapple slices

 Topping:

170 g (3/4 cups) butter

150 g (3/4 cups) sugar

1 tbsp powdered cinnamon

Grated nutmeg

3-4 apples (according to size), peeled, cored and sliced

Cake:

4 eggs, separated, whites whipped stiffly with a pinch of salt

200 g (1 cup) sugar

130 g (1 cup) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp ginger powder

First prepare the topping.  Place the butter, sugar and spices in a baking tin, in a warm oven.  When the butter has melted, remove from the oven, stir well, so that all the ingredients are well blended, and spread evenly over the baking tin.  Cover with  sliced apples, slightly over-lapping each other, forming neat circles and set aside.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Combine the flour with the baking powder and spices and sift over the eggs, a little at a time, stirring gently with a rubber spatula.  Finally fold in the egg whites.   Pour the batter over the apples, level with a wet spatula, and bake in an oven preheated to 190C (375 F) for 45-50 minutes.    Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes, and overturn onto a serving platter.

                                                                 APPLE PIE

Delicious Apple Pie

This is one of the best apple pies.  Use hard, juicy, aromatic apples for the best results. As the ingredients are measured by volume and not by weight, I use a 250 g (8 oz) tub of margarine and the same tub to measure the sugar and flour.

6 apples, peeled, cored and diced

the juice of 1 lemon or more, if preferred

Crust

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup sugar
A pinch of salt

1 cup self-raising flour

Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice and arrange them evenly in a pyrex dish.    Whip the butter, sugar and salt together until light and fluffy, and fold in the flour.   This is a thick batter, not a dough, so spoon it carefully over the apples, without leaving gaps in between, and level the surface with the back of a wet spoon.

Bake the pie in an oven preheated to 180 C for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is crisp and golden.

                                                                APPLE PIE

A Wonderful Apple Pie

My dear niece Maria-Liza Cocali, Dimitris' wife. gave me this recipe for a superb, crispy apple-pie.

 Pastry:

250 g (½ lb) plain flour

125 g (¼ lb) butter

A little water 

Filling:

1 kg (2 lb) apples, peeled, cored and cubed

200 g (almost 7 oz) butter, cut into small pieces

200 g (almost 7 oz) sugar

First prepare the pastry.   Gently rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.   Add just enough water so that the pastry comes together.  Flatten the dough, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).    Meanwhile, arrange the apples in a baking tin.   Place the butter, evenly over the apples and sprinkle with sugar.   Bake for 30 minutes.   Remove from the oven to cool.

Roll out the dough between two pieces of baking parchment.   Drape the pastry sheet over the cool apples, cut the excess pastry and tuck it neatly down the sides of the tin.  Bake the apple pie for 30 minutes more or until the pastry is crisp and golden.

                                                    APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

Applesauce Muffins with Raisins

This is a very popular and healthy small cake.

260 g (2 cups) plain flour

2½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp powdered cloves

½ tsp ginger powder

¾ cup raisins

2 tbsp sun flower oil

150 g (¾ cup) brown sugar

62.5 g (¼ cup) apple sauce

125 g (½ cup) milk

2 large egg whites, stiffly beaten with a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).    Stir in all the dry ingredients together and add the raisins.

Beat the sugar and oil together.   Stir in the apple sauce and the dry ingredients in three parts with the milk.   Fold in the beaten egg whites.   Half fill prepared muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes.

                                                   APPLE AND ONION CHUTNEY

                        

Golden Delicious

This is the very first chutney I made.   One could alternately use pears or quince to prepare this delicious, spicy, chunky chutney.

1 kg (2 lb) apples peeled, cored and cut into cubes (try Golden  Delicious)

500 g (1 lb) onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp grated ginger

500 g (1 lb) sugar

250 ml (1 cup) good quality vinegar

Salt to taste

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper or more, if preferred

1 cinnamon stick

Place all the ingredients together in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts.    Lower the heat and simmer very, very gently stirring occasionally, until the apple mixture thickens and reaches the consistency of jam.   Remove the cinnamon stick, ladle the chutney into prepared, sterilized jars and seal.




                                                         APPLE SPOON SWEET

                                           

Firiki spoon sweet

“Firikia” are small, sweet green apples with a delicate aroma.  You could stuff each apple with a toasted almond if you wish.

1 kg (2 lb) firikia or any other small apples

2 lemons, the juice

1 kg (2 lbs) sugar

600 ml (2½ cups) water

Cloves (one for each apple)

1 cinnamon stick

Wash, peel and core the apples and cover with water and the juice of a lemon to prevent discolouring.

Meanwhile prepare the syrup.   Boil the water and sugar with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the cinnamon stick, for 5-10 minutes.  Drain the apples, pierce the top of each with a clove, and place them in the hot syrup and simmer gently until they are tender.  Remove the saucepan from the fire and set aside for 24 hours.

 

The next day, discard the cinnamon stick and simmer the spoon sweet until the syrup thickens. Taste, and add little more lemon juice, if necessary.  

Cool the apples, before placing them in prepared jars.

                                                          SPICED APPLES

If you have hard, unripe firikia or any other small apples, try preparing this gourmet delicacy.

1 kg (2 lb) firikia apples, peeled, cored and rubbed with lemon juice

Cloves

500 g (1 lb) sugar

500 ml (2 cups) white vinegar

A large pinch of salt

1 rind of ½ a lemon

2 tsp allspice berries

A small piece bruised ginger

A stick of cinnamon

(all tied up in piece of cheesecloth or sterilized gauze) 

Stud each apple with a clove.   Place the sugar, vinegar and salt in a saucepan, add the spice pouch, simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves.   Add the apples and simmer very gently, turning them over once, until they are tender enough to be pierced by a wooden skewer;  this might take from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove the apples with a slotted spoon and pack into sterilized jars.  Discard the spice pouch and simmer the cooking liquid until turns into syrup.  Cover the apples with the vinegar syrup and seal the lids.  Serve with meat, poultry or cheese.  Bon appétit!