As September approaches, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the essence of autumn with dishes infused with the sweetness of Gala apples or the robustness of Cox’s Orange Pippin. Whether baked into comforting pies, pressed into refreshing juices, or finely sliced into vibrant salads, apples not only enrich your dishes but also connect your guests to the bountiful harvest of the season.
This month’s inspirational dishes come from Andy Slater, chef patron of The Oakley Arms in Harrold, Bedfordshire, and Frank Fernandes, Executive Chef at Lanes of London.
Andy features apples throughout the year on his menu and recommends the following four dishes: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KYfcUimUhc9YeqXc7
1/ Poached Apples
Poached Heath Fruit Farm apple, apple caramel, caramel pastry cream, Calvados soaked golden raisins, crunchy hazelnut tuille and yoghurt, finished with caramel and black peppercorn ice cream.
2/ Apple Butter
My Apple Butter goes perfectly with anything pork related. We usually serve it as an alternative to apple sauce and recently served it alongside rare-breed pork from nearby Pavenham.
3/ Table Theatrics
For our Green apple cheesecake, we fold apples into the filling before adding a refreshing centre of caramelised pineapple with cardamom and shape the dessert like an apple for a little bit of theatre.
4/ Apple Sorbet
Add apple purée, sugar, stabiliser, glucose and water to a pan and heat to 85°C.Pour it into a tub, add the tarragon, lemon juice and cover, leaving it to cool overnight before straining, freezing down and churning. It’s fantastic when served with meringue.
5/ ‘Christmousse’ Decornation
This is our popular apple mousse entremet, with a caramelised apple confit centre. We shaped the dessert like a Christmas bauble, sprayed with red velvet spray and placed it on a spiced sable biscuit with a Valrhona Caramelia chocolate ribbon on top.
