Apples for Savouries
There’s a finer line between fruit and veg than you may think, so while everyone’s going gaga for vegetable desserts, I’m just over here trying to slip more fruit into every main. And once you’re on the hoof, you’ll find fruit in savoury dishes all around the world.
Take apples, for example. From being baked into tagines in North Africa, in the mouth of a roasted suckling pig at a medieval feast, or kept fresh for Russian salat olivie and Japanese poteto sarada), the pomme is prolific.
And promiscuous! The apple’s natural propensity to propagate and adapt to its terroir means there are thousands of varieties and variations – something a produce-driven cook like me absolutely adores.
I love building a dish around a specific apple’s characteristics as I might a vegetable, and as a proud Montague Farms ambassador, I’m constantly inspired by Head of Strategy & Innovation – THE apple expert! – Rowan’s breeding programs and the growers’ glorious seasonal bounties.
Here’re how I think about apples when I’m devising savoury dishes and some top tips for getting the most out of every slice:
Knife to meet you
Keep chunks and shapes as uniform as possible to help them cook through evenly; I like to keep fruits resembling their original form, so consider leaving them as wedges, halved and cored, or even whole. Keep the apples’ skin on to retain the shape, or peel if you’d prefer a proper prolapse.
Day spa dahhlink
Roasting requires a dry heat, so try to avoid covering the apples. Instead, let them enjoy a steam facial, getting a little sweaty under some foil encourages apples to relax, and they’ll also benefit from a little time uncovered at the end to blast their faces with a bit of bronzer. Roast the fruits face side up in the dish, as this tends to help the moisture escape and concentrates the flavour; skin side down is a good option, however, if your aim is to burnish the bases (baking paper to line the dish + a sprinkle of sugar on each face highly recommended!).
Raw talent
When keeping apples raw for salads, you want to slice them as close to serving as possible, or acidulate some water and dunk them in to keep the slices juicy and the colour bright. Unless of course you’re using envy™ apples, which magically keep their bright whiteness without oxidising.
Acid-wash
Some sort of acid, like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, will also help to lock in the vibrancy of colour for va-va-voom varieties like KISSABEL® when roasting or stewing, too.
Spice is nice
Spicing will depend on where in the world you want to go. Easy wins will come from a cinnamon stick, a couple of cardamom pods, maybe a few cloves. Seeds such as caraway, cumin and fennel are also repeat rabble-rousers when roasting — though some would prefer to grind these to a powder rather than risk ruining the softness that roasted fruit brings to a dish texturally.
Sugar sugar
And even though you’re serving savouries, accentuating the sweetness is never a bad idea, so whether it’s a sprinkle of sugar, or a drizzle of maple syrup, honey or similar, it’s a great way of playing with sweet-salty-tangy. It’s also a good way to guarantee the best bit about roasting anything sweet: caramelisation. That’s those nigh-on-burnt bits that taste like bitter toffee, making something that could feel like pudding topping taste more sophisticated. I even sprinkle a little sugar into the pan when I’m roasting veg like butternut squash or sweet potato.
Feeling inspired? Here’s a collection of some of my favourite dishes devised using apples:
Starters with Apples
Ambrosia™ + cheese!
Cheddar and apple are a marvellous match, as is any kind of soft or washed rind cheese. I’ve teamed this one with a mild Victorian blue, and the lot was gone in 10 minutes… snaffled up by the glam squad and me – it’s a wonder we made it to the last shot, really.
envy™ Tatar
This is a plate that really knows how to luxuriate in the finer things. Serve plated as a deluxe entrée, or as a canapé with salty tostadas – or corn chips, as we did on set!
Salads with Apples
Ambrosia™ Apple & Honey Salsa with Grilled Haloumi
A heavenly Hellenic pairing of halloumi and honey, combined with the crisp crunch of this sensational new-season apple and herbaceous hints of oregano – opa! While most grilled halloumi recipes will have you hack into the block before it hits the heat, we’re treating the cheese like a steak: slicing after searing, and serving at the table with a tumbling of fresh aromatic, Ambrosia™ apple and honey salsa.
Japanese yello® apple and kohlrabi salad with toasted sesame dressing
yello®’s Japanese origins, in the form of the apple variety known as Shinano Gold, means that this apple lends itself perfectly to this Japanese apple and kohlrabi – the apple of cabbages salad! I use a Japanese julienne slicer to get these fine shavings, which you can pick up from cookware shops, and makes shredding for coleslaw a cinch too.
yello® Apple Salat Olivie
The yello® apple’s sweet crunch cuts through the richness of this salad like a disco ball through the dark. It adds zing, freshness, and a little sparkle to every bite. More like Salat Oh-live-Yeah!! (That’s how you pronounce it too, might I add!)
JAZZ™-y slaw
Jazz music, like salad, benefits from variety. In the former, you get it from pacing – rhythm changes up and down to create a crescendo or soothe the ears with a slow sequence. In the latter, textural changes and plenty of colour and movement in the ingredients provide the eater with enough interest to come in again and again. Think of the dressing like a harmony – it’s sharp and acidic, with pops of poppy seed to punctuate like a tappity-tap on the cymbals.
Something Substantial with Apples
KISSABEL® Apple & Red Onion Tarte Tatin
KISSABEL® holds up fabulously in a tarte tatin – one of my go-to bakes, because it always looks like you’ve gone to way more effort than you actually have. The spices bring out the sweetness in the onions too, particularly the star anise, which is a little woody on the tooth, so remember to remove it before taking a bite. Want to make a dessert version instead? Just sub in more apples!
Roasted JAZZ™ & Carrot Chickpea Salad with Almond Tarator and a fresh Apple & Currant Riff
JAZZ™ apples always take me somewhere playful, for obvious reasons – and this is a play on a winter root veg salad, with the bonus protein boost of chickpea and sweet-tangy pops of softened apple and Spanish onion. Aquafaba (the liquid in your chickpea tin) behaves like egg whites, fluffing up the tarator for a surprisingly plant-based yet creamy base that makes this even more substantial for a winter lunch or as part of a broader vegan/vego spread.
Roasted pumpkin x Smitten apple soup with caramelised maple pecan apple
Pumpkin soup is already quite sweet, so it’s the tang in this apple that elevates this dish, boosted with body from carrots and sweet potato. The caramelised apple & pecan topping is optional, but excellent – and you can always save any excess for topping tomorrow’s apple pancakes. Hit up envy™ as a sweet substitute while Smittenâ is not in season.
These tips are proudly brought to you in partnership with Montague Farms.
