Tag: Apples

Squash & Apple Soup

  • Having a bumper crop of apples this year, I have been looking for new apple recipes.
  • I came across this one and it turned out so delicious – a lovely slightly sour taste.
  • I think you could use pumpkin instead of squash but I have not tried this out.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 2 medium to large cooking apples
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock (I used Marigold powder)
  • A little butter to fry the onions
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Slice the butternut squash into large pieces.
  • Place on a baking tray and put in an warm oven and roast till the flesh is soft.
  • Leave to cool and then remove the flesh from the skin.
  • Fry the onion in the butter till golden.
  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Chop the apples into small chunks.
  • Put everything into the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till everything is soft.
  • Use a stick blender to make thick liquid.
  • Season to taste
  • *
  • OPTIONAL
  • Add a tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt to each serving.
  • *
  • Good served with toasted sourdough toast.

Apple & Sultana Filling

  • This is a filling based on one I found in an Austrian cookery book.
  • It is similar to the one I used in  Apple cake with sultanas.
  • This filling is one you can prepare seperately and use in a variety of cakes and pastries.
  • Unlike my previous recipes the apples here are cooked until they are a purée.

INGREDIENTS

  • 750g of cooking apples
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 50g sultanas
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon

METHOD

  • Cook the apples with the sugar in a saucepan with a lid.
  • Keep checking and stirring so they do not burn.
  • Keep stirring until the apples are a purée.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Mix in the sultanas.
  • I think it is best to add the lemon zest just before using the filling BUT
  • You can add it now if that is easier.
  • You can leave it covered in the fridge for the next day.

Recipes using the filling will be coming up soon.

Fruity Rice Salad

  • This salad is super on a warm day – good to be eating it outside.
  • I have served it up with cold meats, Polish sausage or roast chicken or pork.
  • It is a cold salad 

INGREDIENTS

  • Cold cooked rice
  • 1 tin of pineapples – chopped
  • 1 red skinned apple – Pink lady is good – chopped
  • 80g of raisins or sultanas
  • *
  • Mint leaves to garnish

Method

  • Drain the pineapples – keep the juice.
  • Soak the raisins in the pineapple juice for at least 20 minutes.
  • In a large bowl – mix the rice, pineapples, apples and soaked dried fruit.
  • Include all the juice from the soaked dried fruit.
  • Add a touch of ground black pepper – optional.
  • *
  • Garnish the salad with some fresh mint leaves.

 

Herring Salad – 2

This is another version of herring salads.

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 1 packet of Matjes style herrings
  • Milk for soaking
  • 2 small onions peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 or 2 eating apples – cored and chopped into small cubes
  • 2 gherkins – chopped into small pieces
  • Juice from 1 lemon 
  • Dollops of soured cream or yoghourt – Optional

METHOD

  • Remove the herrings from the packet (keep the liquid).
  • Place the herrings in a shallow dish of milk.
  • Soak in the milk for several hours.
  • Dry with them off with kitchen roll.
  • Cut them into small chunks.
  • Layer up the ingredients on the long plate.
  • Pouring the herring liquid over the onions.
  • Pour lemon juice over the apples.
  • Place some dollops of soured cream on the top.

Duck Pierogi with Apple Sauce

  • Duck is often paired with apples in Poland.
  • I have previously posted recipes for Duck Pierogi  and also for apple sauce.
  • One of my fillings used duck and apple.
  • At Gvara (yes this spelling) restaurant in Gdańsk, I had duck pierogi with apple sauce.
  • Decided I had to made this on my return.
  • I think the duck on its own filling is best – you then have the contrast between the savoury and the sweet.
  • My original recipe for apple sauce is served chilled – here it should be warm.
  • I would also serve with a lot more apple sauce!

Ingredients – Duck Filling

    • 150g – 250g of cooked duck meat
    • 1 onion
    • 1 – 2 egg yolks
    • 2 tablespoon of dried breadcrumbs
    • salt & ground black pepper to taste
    • *
    • butter & sunflower oil to fry the onion

  • Method

    • Chop the onion and fry in the butter/oil till golden.
    • Finely chop or mince the duck meat or user a stick blender.
    • Mix together the chicken, onion, egg yolks and bread crumbs to get a uniform mixture.

Make pierogi in the usual way – see my posts or page on this.

Keep the pierogi warm, but without butter (or just a little) and serve with warm apple sauce.

Ingredients for apple sauce

  • 2 large Bramley apples
  • ½ – 1 tablespoon of potato flour
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • Water

Method

  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Cut them into small pieces.
  • Cover them with water and cook till soft.
  • Use a stick blender to purée them.
  • Add the sugar and lemon rind.
  • Mix the potato flour with a little water.
  • Add this to the apple mixture.
  • Heat gently stirring all the time until thickened.
  • Keep warm for serving with duck pierogi.

Celeriac & Apple Soup

  • I tried out this new recipe yesterday and it was delicious.
  • The balance of flavours can be adjusted depending on how large your celeriac is and how many apples you have.
  • Bramley cooking apples or other sour apples are needed as the soup is not intended to be sweet – more the sourness that is so popular in many Polish dishes.
  • This soup is one that is served warm.

Ingredients

  • 1 celeriac
  • 3 – 4 large Bramley apples.
  • 2-3 tablespoons of butter
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock ( I use Marigold powder)
  • 125ml of dry sherry or wine
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method

  • Peel the celeriac and chop it into small pieces.
  • Peel and core the apples and chop them into small pieces.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the celeriac and apples.
  • Heat then gently to soften but do not brown.
  • Add the stock and bring to the boil.
  • Put the lid on the saucepan and then simmer until the celeriac is soft.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • Stir in the sherry and serve.

Meakin – Spanish garden soup dish

Red Cabbage Goląbki

  • I bought this little booklet in Wrocław and have been trying out a few ideas.
  • These goląbki are made with red cabbage and filled with apples, onion and sultanas. 
  • I found that red cabbage leaves seem tougher than white cabbage and did not tear as much.
  • I steamed the red cabbage as I find this easier than boiling.
  • Of course your hands will be full of red/purple dye – lemon juice at the end gets rid of most of the colour.
  • They take a lot of time to prepare – next time I will make the filling the day before.
  • The original recipe used water in which to cook the goląbki.

Ingredients for the filling

  • 2 onions – chopped
  • 3 Bramley apples – peeled, cored and chopped
  • 2 cups of boiled rice – a sticky type is good
  • Large handful of sultanas or raisins
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of marjoram or Italian herbs
  • 2-3 tablespoons of butter to fry the onions and apples

Method for the filling

  • Fry the onions gently in the butter – do not brown.
  • Once the onions are soft and golden add the apples and heat together.
  • Add the rice, sultanas and sugar.
  • Mix well and leave to cool.

Ingredients for the goląbki

  • 1 red cabbage
  • Water or apple juice
  • *
  • Filling as above

Method for goląbki

  • Steam a whole cabbage.
  • Cut off the leaves one by one as they become pliable.
  • You can cut out some of the thick part of the base of the leaf.
  • 11 – 12 leaves are good for this amount of filling.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 4 –  180°C.
  • Place 2 tablespoons of filling onto each leaf.
  • Roll up the leaves with the thick part inside first.
  • Place the goląbki close together in a roasting tin.
  • Cover the goląbki with hot water or apple juice.
  • *
  • If you have any leaves left over, cover the dish with these.
  • Cover the dish with aluminium foil.
  • Cook for around 2-3 hours in the oven.
  • *
  • Discard the extra leaves which are there to take up any excess heat and prevent the goląbki burning.
  • *
  • You can cook these earlier and reheat for an hour when required.

NOTE

I thought they were even nicer with the apple juice the second time I made them.

Apple Mincemeat Crumble Squares

  • This is my 525 post – Thank you everyone for reading them.
  • This is a quicker alternative to making individual little mince pies.
  • There is a buttery layer of shortcrust pastry at the bottom.
  • A crumble mixture on the top.
  • In between a layer of Apple mincemeat. 
  • Or use good quality mincemeat with a cooked cooking apple added but no extra sugar.

Ingredients – Pastry

  • 150g plain flour  –  
  • 75g butter 
  • 1-2 tablespoons of icing sugar (optional)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Juice of 1 lemon (and maybe 1 tablespoon of cold water)

Method  – Pastry

  • Rub the butter into the flour to make “breadcrumbs”.
  • Mix in the icing sugar.
  • First with a knife and then with your fingertips mix in the yolk & lemon juice (and  maybe a tablespoon of cold water.)
  • You are aiming to get a dough which is not wet.
  • Rest for about 20 minutes.

Ingredients  – Crumble

  • 90g plain flour
  • 45g butter
  • 45g granulated sugar

Method – Crumble

  • Rub the butter into the flour until you have breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the sugar.

Method – Overall

  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C
  • Grease and line with 1 piece of baking paper 2 long sides and the base of a 26 x 21 cm tin.
  • Roll out the pastry into a  thin rectangle that fits the base of the tin.
  • Spread the mincemeat over the pastry.
  • Sprinkle the crumble mix over the top.
  • Use a fork to ‘rough up’ the top.
  • Bake for around 25 – 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Cut into squares when cool.

Apple Mincemeat

  • This is a fresher tasting mincemeat than the classic English version.
  • It does not contain any fats.
  • Similar to Cranberry mincemeat – see previous post.
  • It will keep if kept in the fridge for up to a month.
  • Best to use this up quickly.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large Bramley apples – peeled, cored and chopped.
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 2 oranges zest & juice or 3 large satsumas
  • 150g currants
  • 150g raisins
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 125ml sherry

METHOD

  • Have prepared 3- 4 sterilised jar jars.
  • Put the apples, sugar, zest and juice into a saucepan and heat till the fruit starts to soften.
  • Add the dried fruit and spices and continue heating and stirring for around 5 minutes.
  • Add the sherry and continue heating and stirring for another 5-10 minutes until you have a thick liquid free mixture.
  • Leave to go cold and pot up into cold sterilised jars.
  • Keep in the fridge and use within a month.

Easy Apple Cake

  • I have had a huge harvest of Bramley apples this year, so am always looking for different recipes from my standard favourite one.
  • This is based on an American idea with just a free form base and slightly raised sides.
  • It has been adapted to make a it more like a Polish apple cake  –  jabłecznik.
  • I have tried it several times and two secrets are:
  • 1) NOT have too much pastry and
  • 2) NOT to have loads of filling.
  • The pastry should be rolled out until it is thin.

Ingredients – pastry

  • 200g flour
  • 100g butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • *
  • 1 egg yolk – use it all – for sealing
  • *
  • 1 egg white – beaten
  • 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

Ingredients – filling

  • 2 large Bramley apples
  • 75g raisins or sultanas
  • 75g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust – optional

Method – filling

  • Peel and core the apples and chop them into small pieces.
  • Add the raisins, sugar and spices.
  • Mix together and leave to one side.

Method – pastry

  • Rub the butter into the flour until like breadcrumbs.
  • Add the egg yolk and lemon juice and mix to a soft dough.
  • Add more water sparingly if necessary.
  • *
  • Wrap in plastic and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • *
  • Butter / Grease a large baking sheet.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C.
  • *
  • Roll out the pastry thinly until you have a rough circle around 25cm.
  • Place the pastry onto the sheet.
  • Brush the egg yolk over a circle round 25cm in diameter.
  • Pile up the filling onto the circle.
  • Bring up the sides of the pastry.
  • Brush the sides with the egg white.
  • Sprinkle on the tablespoon of granulated sugar.
  • *
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden.
  • Leave to cool on a wire rack.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.