Apples, Apples, Apples, Part Deux

If you can believe it, the 30 pounds of apples are completely gone!  We have eaten them in almost every way imaginable - baked, mashed, blended, strained, and sauteed - and enjoyed them with peanut butter, with cheese, on pancakes, over meat, under ice cream, and slathered in caramel. Yet, despite all our best efforts to to transform these beauties into something else, my favorite way to eat them remains the same - crisp, whole, deliciously nibbled down to the core.

Two weeks of experimenting have, however, produced many delicious discoveries worth sharing.  Here are a few of my favorites: Acorn Squash and Cider Soup, Spinach Salad with Apples, Pecans, Raisins and Celery Root, and Ina Garten's Apple Crisp.  More apple-inspired recipes to come!  Enjoy!

Acorn Squash and Cider Soup

Some ingredients just have a way of making everything around them taste better.  In this recipe, that ingredient is the apple cider - it elevates your basic squash soup to something comforting yet refined, and truly unforgettable.  This recipe is adapted from Cory Schreiber's book, Wildwood: Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest.  Those of you who read my post on salmon will already know of my developing obsession with Schreiber and his simple yet elegant cooking.  Suffice it to say, if you want to make my day, you can buy me this book!!!

This recipe makes a lot of soup - so you can easily freeze leftovers for another meal.  We served this with crusty bread, and a simple salad of spinach, celery root, apples and raisins (recipe below).  This would also be a great first course if you're planning a fancy dinner party!  The soup itself is easy to make - but the blending and straining can be time consuming and labor intensive (though worth the effort).  If you are feeling ambitious, you can make your own cider by washing and coring a variety of your favorite apples, cutting them into quarters and pureeing them in a food processor or blender until finely ground.  Place some cheesecloth over a large bowl and pour the pureed apples into the cheesecloth.  Squeeze the apples through the cheesecloth into the bowl, applying firm but steady pressure.  You can store the cider in your fridge for up to 7 days or in your freezer for up to one year. You can also pasteurize your cider by heating it 160 degrees - this will kill any bacteria present and allow you to store your cider in the fridge for up to three weeks.  

Ingredients:

4 lbs acorn squash, halved and seeded
3 tsp salt
Pepper
2 tbs unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
3 leeks, whites only, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups apple cider
1/4 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate
2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tbs sherry vinegar
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Season the squash with 1 tsp of the salt and pepper.  Place the squash cut-side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake until tender, about 40-45 minutes.  When completely cooled, scrape out the flesh and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic, carrots, leeks, onions, fennel and 1 tsp of the salt.  Reduce to the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender.  Mix in the cooked squash, stock, cider, orange juice concentrate, fennel seeds and cloves.  Bring to a simmer and let it cook (covered) for about 20 minutes.  Add the vinegar, lemon juice, cayenne and the remaining 1 tsp of salt.  Allow to cool slightly.  Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor.  Strain the puree through a sieve.  Taste and season accordingly.  Note, the soup should be gently spicy.  If, however, it seems too hot, you may not have pureed the soup finely enough (and too much of the solids were strained out).
 

Spinach Salad with Apples, Pecans, Raisins and Celery Root.


Do not let the inclusion of celery root freak you out.  If you have ever seen this in the store, it does look a little inaccessible ("what on earth do you do with that?!").  Simply trim off the greens from the root and peel away the brown exterior with a knife.  The white flesh underneath has the consistency of a cross between and apple and a turnip, and possess a mild celery flavor.  It is a very nice addition to this salad.

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh baby spinach
1/2 of one celery root, trimmed, peeled and grated
1 apple, chopped
1 healthy handful of Pecans, lightly toasted
1 healthy handful of Raisins


For the Vinaigrette:
1 part olive oil
2 parts apple cider vinegar
1 part honey
1 dash of ground cinnamon

Combine the first five ingredients in a large salad bowl and set aside.  In a mason jar, or similar, combine the remaining ingredients and shake vigorously.  Pour over the salad, toss and serve.

Apple Crisp


This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Old Fashioned Apple Crisp.  Ina's recipe calls for tossing the apples with the zest of one orange and one lemon, and two tablespoons each of lemon and orange juice.  It is a refreshing twist on a classic, but my husband, Pete, is a purist when it comes to apple crisp and prefers it when I omit the citrus.  Try it both ways and see which way you prefer it!  Unlike Ina, I add ground cloves and allspice to give it an extra kick. 

Ingredients:

5 pounds apples (Honeycrisps, Macintosh, or your favorite), peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a large baking dish.

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, and spices. Pour into the prepared baking dish.  To make the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples.  Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.