If you cook apples in a parcel, you end up with a lovely sweet syrupy sauce, says Flora Shedden. You can serve them on the table still in their parcel, and let people help themselves.
Ingredients
For the baked apples
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- 2 small eating apples
- 1 strip of lemon zest (or orange)
- ½ vanilla pod
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 4 large fennel flowers (optional)
- 1 rosemary sprig (or bay leaf)
- 50g honey
- 25g butter
- small pinch of salt
For the crumble
- 50g butter
- 50g light brown sugar
- 50g wholemeal flour (spelt or plain flour will also work)
- 25g ground almonds (almond meal)
- 50g pine nuts
To serve
- yoghurt or crème fraîche and double (heavy) cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (400°F/gas 6). Place a large sheet of greaseproof paper over 2 sheets of foil.
- Slice the apples in half horizontally and place in the middle of the greaseproof paper. Add the lemon zest, vanilla pod, fennel and rosemary. Drizzle over the honey and add the butter.
- Sprinkle with a tiny amount of salt. Fold the foil over the fruit to meet the opposite side and fold over the edges. Fold again to create a tight seal. Double fold the sides in the same way to form a tightly sealed parcel.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the apples feel soft and are just holding their shape.
- Meanwhile, make the crumble. Blitz together the butter, sugar, flour and ground almonds in a food processor until it has a sandy consistency. Tip into a bowl and add the pine nuts. Scrunch together to create lumps, like a granola. Tip onto a baking sheet and place in the oven alongside the apples.
- Mix the crumble again in 5 minutes. Repeat until the crumble is golden brown and crisp.
- To serve, spoon a good dollop of yoghurt or crème fraîche into each bowl. Spoon 2 apple halves onto the yoghurt along with any juices, then spoon a generous amount of crumble on top. Finish with a drizzle of double cream.
Taken from Supper: Recipes Worth Staying in For by Flora Shedden, published by Hardie Grant at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
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