Apples in savory dishes

[devlin]

An article today in (I think) the Washington Post by a chef whose name I can't remember (how's that for a vague start?), wrote sort of glowingly about the marriage of apples with calves liver and apples with pan-seared foie gras, and it struck me I'm a total hillbilly for not knowing how one might perform those dishes.

So, any ideas? They sound fabulous.

[edited for clarification]

[Pan]

Apples are really good with blood pudding, too.

[Shalmanese]

Apples and Porkchops obviously. Apples and Venison also works quite well.

[davebrown]

Apples with veal.

Sharp apples with mackerel.

I agree with Pan - the black pudding combination is excellent. Fry the pudding slices with apple slices, serve on mashed potato with a creamy grain mustard sauce.

[devlin]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like to find a resource with more actual guidelines and instructions (or actual recipes). Anybody know of any cookbooks that might be helpful in this regard?

[ludja]

Apples are really good with blood pudding, too.

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This is a great combination. You can just saute some sliced, peeled apples in butter and season them with salt and pepper. I also like to saute some sliced boiled potatoes and combine them with the sauteed apple.

This is also great with boudin blanc and all sorts of blood sausauges.

Another apple/potato prep that goes well with these is "Himmel und Erde" or 'Heaven and Earth". It's a German dish of pureed apples and potatoes:

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I think butter sauteed apples and potatoes would go very well with the seared calves liver iwith respect to texture and flavor. Salt and pepper are important to me in balancing the sweet note of the apple.

For the foie gras I think a similar approach would be great--to make it a bit more elegant perhaps one could make a crispy cake from shredded apple and potato and also make a sauce from reduced cider/demiglace or a spiced applesauce. Fried apple peels for garnish?

Edited September 13, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

A classic pairing is apples and a Calvados-braised rabbit -- I add a touch of ginger to mine and serve with fingerling potatoes...

[TongoRad]

A couple of times a year I'll do a veal stew with lots of sliced apples and onions. The apples break down during cooking and make a rustic sauce which I finish off with a bit of dijon mustard and cream. Mushrooms, usually shiitakes or whatever is handy, are added at the end of cooking. I may have even added some dried cherries (or cranberries?) once, which was good, but not really necessary. The base recipe works with rabbit as well.

[ludja]

A classic pairing is apples and a Calvados-braised rabbit -- I add a touch of ginger to mine and serve with fingerling potatoes...

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This reminds me of another classic French prep from Normandy--chicken dishes with apples, calvados and/or cider and cream... (maybe mushrooms also? )

edited to add a recipe link: Chicken with Cider and Apples

Edited September 13, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

Does anybody actually stick an apple in a roast pig's mouth? Or is that just in cartoons?

[devlin]

Is there an Italian equivalent of blood pudding?

[Pan, your Prokofiev is so ravishing it made me weep toward the end....]

[andiesenji]

One of my favorite fall dishes is bratwurst, cut into chunks, seared briefly, then add 1/2 cup of apple cider, cover and steam for 12-15 minutes, uncover, allow some of the liquid to reduce.

Add sliced or coarsely chopped apples, and continue cooking until the apples have just begun to soften. You still want some crunch. If you want them softer, cover for 3-5 minutes.

You can sprinkle in some fresh chopped taragon, if you wish.

The bratwurst I buy is already seasoned so I rarely add anything else but you can add whatever you like.

I have also been known to toss in 1/2 a cup of chutney (whatever type I have on hand) before adding the apples.

This is excellent served with potato pancakes, with cornmeal waffles or even buckwheat waffles.

Edited September 13, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[The Old Foodie]

Does anybody actually stick an apple in a roast pig's mouth?  Or is that just in cartoons?

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In medieval times the boars head with an apple in its mouth was a traditional symbol of Christs triumph over Satan (the boar's head representing Satan) - hence the tradition of it being borne into the feast on a great platter. I'm not sure what the apple represents - apart from perhaps the obvious Garden of Eden thing. Or perhaps the apple was just a convenient prop to keep the boar's mouth open so the gruesome teeth would show!

I think the traditional pairing of pork and apple in old recipes relates to terroir - pigs often used to graze the apple orchards and hence be fattened on the fallen fruit.

[gus_tatory]

...wrote sort of glowingly about the marriage of apples with calves liver and apples...

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hi devlin--

before i had even read the first post of this thread--just from the title--i was going to tell you about calves' liver, bacon, and apples--amazing.

but also if you put 1-2 apples in with the liver mixture before it gets pureed for pate, with a pinch of allspice/cloves/nutmeg, that is delightful too.

[liuzhou]

Bumping an almost prehistoric topic because my friend J just dropped me off 10 kilos of apples. Apparently, she was given them by a client, but she is going off home in a day or two for the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival holiday and can't possibly carry them. So, I have inherited them.
 

I maybe eat an apple au naturel about once a year - not my favourite fruit. I occasionally make an apple crumble and although I love a good apple pie I have never made pastry in my life (and they don't have the frozen stuff here). I'm just not the sweet-toothed type.

There are some interesting suggestions on savoury uses above, but I wondered if anyone had anything to add. I'm already thinking apple chutney.

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Bumping an almost prehistoric topic because my friend J just dropped me off 10 kilos of apples. Apparently, she was given them by a client, but she is going off home in a day or two for the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival holiday and can't possibly carry them. So, I have inherited them.
 

I maybe eat an apple au naturel about once a year - not my favourite fruit. I occasionally make an apple crumble and although I love a good apple pie I have never made pastry in my life (and they don't have the frozen stuff here). I'm just not the sweet-toothed type.

There are some interesting suggestions on savoury uses above, but I wondered if anyone had anything to add. I'm already thinking apple chutney.

I know you said savory and I can't remember if you have a slow cooker or not so this is two strikes against me.  I do know that you like toast and marmalade and such.  What about using some of the apples to make apple butter?  It's good stuff.  And, it lasts quite a while in the fridge.

[liuzhou]

3 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I know you said savory and I can't remember if you have a slow cooker or not so this is two strikes against me.  I do know that you like toast and marmalade and such.  What about using some of the apples to make apple butter?  It's good stuff.  And, it lasts quite a while in the fridge.

Thanks. Yes, I have a slow cooker.

How do you use apple butter, though? The link doesn't say.

[blue_dolphin]

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Bumping an almost prehistoric topic...
There are some interesting suggestions on savoury uses above, but I wondered if anyone had anything to add. I'm already thinking apple chutney.

There are some good savory apple ideas over in the Apple Cook-off thread, including chutney and a recipe from @David Ross for litchi plum applesauce with pork

[liuzhou]

@blue_dolphin

Thanks

[Shelby]

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Thanks. Yes, I have a slow cooker.

How do you use apple butter, though? The link doesn't say.

I'm sorry.  I should  have elaborated.  It's excellent on toast.  I also heat it up and put it on ice cream.

[liuzhou]

Just now, Shelby said:

I'm sorry.  I should  have elaborated.  It's excellent on toast.  I also heat it up and put it on ice cream.

 

No need to be sorry. Thank you.

[Anna N]

Hard to beat this. I usually make it with medallions of pork tenderloin and I serve it with glazed baby potatoes.  Leftovers are definitely great on an open face sandwich. Skål. 

[kayb]

I love apples stirfried and served with chicken or pork. I add them to sauerkraut (which you probably don't get in China, either...) dishes. One does not go amiss in sweet potato soup. They're a good addition to salads.

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, kayb said:

I love apples stirfried and served with chicken or pork. I add them to sauerkraut (which you probably don't get in China, either...) dishes. One does not go amiss in sweet potato soup. They're a good addition to salads.

Yes!  They can definitely shine in a soup. I recently made a parsnip and apple soup. And of course they were always an element in any mulligatawny soup that I ate although they seem to have disappeared from most recipes.

[Paul Fink]

Poulet Vallée d'Auge is a wonderful chicken dish with apples, calvados & a creamy mushroom sauce. 

I use dry apple cider rather than white wine when cooking chicken or turkey.