Island Epicure – Making the Most of Apples

By Marjorie Watkins

This article first appeared in The Vashon Loop, probably in the fall of 2010

So many apples and such big ones festoon our tree this fall! The deer that usually “prunes” it, eating leaves and green apples, never showed up this year. We didn’t see any honeybees either, but an occasional honeybee and sone hard-working little mason bees evidentally pollinated more apple blossoms than was seen in any other spring.

We’ve enjoyed pie loaded with tart, sweet apples, cinnamon, and cloves. We’ve had apple and celery salad, apple and kiwi salad, apple and raisin or craisin salad, apple and chicken curry, and apple-cranberry chutney.

Apple and Chicken Curry

Serves 4-6

¼ cup butter or light olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 thin-skinned organic apple, chopped but not peeled

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

2 tsp curry powder, or to your tase

1 tbsp cornstarch or rice flour

1 cup chicken broth or 1 tsp chicken salt granules plus one cup water

1 cup diced cooked chicken, turkey, or game hen

1 cup grated, unsweetened coconut (Thriftway bulk section)

Stir fry the butter or oil and onion 5 minutes until semi-transparent and glossy. Add the apple and curry powder. Stir, cover, and cook 15 minutes on medium heat. Add all but 2-3 tbsp of the chicken broth to the pot.

Stir the starch or rice flour into the saved broth. When the pot boils again, stir the starch mixture in and stir-cook until it clears and thickens. Add the meat and coconut. Stir-cook until steaming hot.

Serve over steamed brown rice.

Company Curry

With the above, or a lentil curry, offer little bowls of garnishes: raisins, roasted peanuts or slivered almonds, chopped green onions (tops included), minced fresh parsley, bacon bits, and a bigger dish of chutney.

For chutney, we haven’t seen fresh cranberries on the market yet, but they’ll be along soon. If your apples can’t wait for fresh ones, use dried cranberries for the next recipe. If using large apples, seven are enough. If apples are smaller, use eight.

Apple Cranberry Chutney

Makes about 6 pints

7-8 thin-skinned or thinly peeled apples, chopped

2 cups cranberries, washed and sorted, or generous 1 cup dried cranberries

2 large or 3 smaller yellow onions, chopped

1½ cup raisins

1 tbsp celery seeds

1 tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp salt

1½ cups apple cider vinegar

¾ cup orange juice

½ cup light molasses

Stir-cook all the ingredients in a large saucepan until boiling. Reduce the heat. Cover and let the chutney simmer very, very slowly, until it becomes thick. Peer in and stir frequently so the fruit won’t stick to the bottom of the pan nor scorch.

When the fragrant curry is thick enough, pour it into hot, sterilized jars. Run a knife into each jar to let the air bubbles out.

Store in a cool place.

Honeyed Chutney

To the above ingredients, add the juice of 2 lemons and just the yellow part of their rinds, finely minced. Omit molasses. When the chutney has cooked down to desired thickness, stir in ½ cup of honey.

Freeze to store, in containers filled to 1 inch from the tops. (the chutney swells on freezing, so you need to leave room for that).

Apple and Kiwi Salad

4 servings

4 large dark green or red lettuce leaves

1 large apple, thin-skinned or thinly peeled, chopped

2 ripe kiwi fruits, peeled and coarsely chopped

3-4 tbsp chopped walnuts

Ranch-style dressing

Wash the lettuce leaves under running water. Pat them dry with a clean tea towel or paper towels. Tear them into bite-size pieces (if in a hurry, stack and dice them to about 1-inch pieces).

A method used to peel peaches and tomatoes also is useful with kiwi, especially if you have more than 1 or 2 to peel. Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil. Add the fruit and blanch for 20 to 30 seconds, depending on how ripe it is – use less time for ripe fruit. Drain immediately and hold under cold water to stop the cooking. The skin will peel right off.

Put the lettuce on a salad platter. A dinner plate will do. Arrange on the lettuce in this order: Apple pieces, kiwi pieces, and walnuts. Pass the ranch style dressing at the table.

Nutrition note: Apples are an excellent source of alpha lipoic acid, said to help ward off diabetes. The cinnamon and cloves help preserve the chutney, and kill bacteria and viruses in your body. The vinegar reduces the glycemic load of whatever carbohydrate you eat with the chutney, ie. rice. Two kiwis yield as much Vitamin C as one orange.