Apple time!

In Philadelphia, where I live, the temperature has been consistently in the 70s for the past couple of weeks and generally edged up into the 80s for a week or so before that.  In other words, you couldn’t tell it was fall from the weather, which is my excuse for not remembering it was fall until my local grocery store changed their produce section so that enormous tables of apples dominated everything.

Because of their association with Halloween, pumpkins are closely associated with autumn but really, folks, isn’t it the glorious apple that symbolize fall in the way that fresh tomatoes and corn on the cob symbolize summer and asparagus symbolizes spring?  When I was a kid, apples meant macintoshes (or maybe deliciouses) but those piles of red, round apples meant autumn.  Today, we can enjoy many more varieties (Granny Smith, mutsu, gala, fuji, honey crisp, jonagold, pink ladies and macouns (among others) and the colors range from bright green to bright red with many stops along that continuum.

So this being fall and my grocery stores overflowing with apples, I feel an obligation to use apples in my cooking but I’m not really a dessert kind of cook. That’s partly because I don’t eat dessert very much, but it’s also because I’m usually cooking for only one or two and you just can’t bake an apple pie for one.  It just can’t be done.  When it comes right down to it, if I want to incorporate apples into my dessert repertoire, I’ll eat the apple as is.

On the other hand, apples can be incorporated really easily into savory cooking and there’s no better time than October to do just that.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a classic dish from Normandy, pork chops cooked with apples.  That dish turned out so well, I thought I’d try it with another protein, like scallops.  Now you usually don’t think apples and seafood would work well together but this was delicious (even if the apple hides the scallops in the picture to the left).

The approach does have to be changed a little, because you can’t braise the scallops the way you braise the pork in cider with slices of apple.  To get that apple base, mix half a tart apple with some lemon juice in a blender.  Dice the remaining apple.  Then sear the scallops and when done set them aside.  Add butter, the apple/lemon mixture, the diced apples, salt, and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes until the apples get soft.  Plate the scallops, dress with the apples and dig in.  The tart/sweet mixture of the apples works really well with the sweetness of the scallops and a little dusting of scallion adds just the right bite.

The salad I made to go with it is really simple and utterly wonderful.  Take a half-dozen or so leaves of endive and cover them with 4-5 thin slices of a tart apple (eat the rest of the apple or save it for some other preparation).  Add some chopped walnuts and shaved pecorino or parmesan, and a sprinkling of scallion. Dress with a nice extra virgin olive oil and a tiny amount of champagne (or white wine) vinegar.  It’s tart, salty, sweet, and savory all at the same time.

A couple of my apple efforts got a little further afield and I have to thank Mark Bittman from the NY Times for inspiration.  The first is an apple raita. Whenever we go to an Indian restaurant, we always order raita as the yogurt/cucumber mixture provides a cooling, interesting counterbalance to the occasional heaviness and spiciness of Indian cuisine.  In this case, we substitute apples for cucumbers, tweak a little, and come up with something very different but still reminiscent of raita.

Apples, especially a firm, taut apple like a fuji or granny smith, have a much stronger presence than cucumbers.  That means we can add a little more flavor to the yogurt that carries the apples.  To start with, I added some mild pickled jalapeños and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the yogurt and grated apple.  Then while those flavors were getting to know each other, I heated up some black mustard seeds and cumin seeds for about a minute until they popped and then added them to the yogurt – apple mixture so it all cooled down together.  It’s definitely a raita, but a big, bold raita and a perfect side dish to a big, bold main course (like a pork chop with a paprika rub or a mustard/sriracha chicken breast).

While I was working on my apple raita, I was also working on an apple pickle.  Unless you’ve had an Indian mango pickle, you might be baffled by the use of the word “pickle” in this context, but bear with me.  I don’t know what else to call it, but this isn’t like any other pickle I’ve ever had.

We start by creating a large dice from a sweet/tart apple.  The diced apple is mixed with salt, cayenne, and turmeric and set aside.

Now we come to the place where a cook has to make an executive decision.  The recipe I was adapting called for asafetida powder.  I bought a jar of asafetida powder in 1987 and when I left that house in 2000, the jar was 3/4 full.  Asafetida powder is an Indian spice that is used often in some types of Indian cooking and not at all in others.  It’s a powdered form of the asafetida plant which has a flavor about halfway between onion and garlic.  Rather than invest $8 in a jar I’d probably never use again, I decided to substitute a small shallot and a garlic clove. Seemed to work well for me.  Anyway, the technique is to add black mustard seeds to hot oil until they pop (as with the raita) and then the shallots and garlic.  Take off the heat until the shallots sweat and the garlic cooks and then add to the apples. Add some sesame oil and lime juice, mix everything thoroughly and then chill overnight.

This explodes the next day when you taste it.  The tartness of the apple and the lime juice bumps up agains the heat of the cayenne and the mustard seeds in a really dynamic way. I might be tempted to find a way to add a little sweetness, but that will have to wait until next time.  In the meantime, I’ve been picking away at this for three days and it still hasn’t gotten old.

Today, we’ve looked to France and India for inspiration. In the next couple of days we’ll be looking to central Europe for apple recipes, celebrating autumn.

Recipe – Scallops with apple

Ingredients

12 oz large dry scallops

2 Granny Smith (or other tart) apples, cored

2 tbl lemon juice

1/4 cup water

2 tbl olive oil

1 tbl butter

salt and pepper

scallions or sprouts

Directions

Peel and core the apples.  Roughly chop one and add to a small blender with the lemon juice and water.  Puree.  Dice the other one into 1/4″ dice and set aside.

Add the oil to a hot skillet.  When the oil is hot, add half the scallops and sear on both sides (about two minutes).  Set aside, add the remaining scallops and repeat.

Lower heat to medium low and add the butter.  Use the butter and remaining oil to deglaze the skillet.  Add the apple/lemon mixture and diced apples and stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes until apples begin to get soft.  Season with salt and pepper.

Plate the scallops, add apple sauce, and sprinkle with scallions or sprouts as a garnish.

Recipe – Apple, endive and walnut salad

Ingredients

Several whole leaves of endive

Half a tart, peeled apple, cut into 1/8″ slices

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

shaved pecorino or parmesan cheese

1 tbl thinly chopped scallions

extra virgin olive oil

champagne vinegar

Directions

Add the ingredients in layers, in the order shown.  The oil and vinegar should be added to taste with the vinegar the final element.

Recipe – Apple raita

Ingredients

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tbl mild jalapeños

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

salt to taste

1 tbl sesame or canola oil

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 garlic clove, minced

Directions

Combine yogurt, apple, ginger, jalapeños, pepper flakes, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Add oil to a hot pan and add mustard and cumin seeds.  Shake pan constantly for about a minute until seeds start to pop.  Remove from heat and add garlic. Continue to shake for a minute until garlic begins to cook, then add to yogurt/apple mixture.  Chill.  Serve with pieces of pita bread, naan bread, or some other bread to scoop up the raita.

Recipe – Apple pickle

Ingredients

2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large dice

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbl sesame oil, divided

1 tbl black mustard seeds

1 small shallot, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbl lime juice

Directions

Thoroughly mix apples, cayenne, turmeric, and salt in a bowl.  Add half the oil to a hot skillet and then add mustard seeds until they pop (about one minute).  Remove from heat and add shallots and garlic. Continue to stir/shake until shallots sweat and garlic begins to  cook.  Add the oil mixture to apples, then add remaining oil and lime juice.  Mix thoroughly and chill for several hours.