Apple Strudel

There were plenty from our last Braeburn apple harvest to stew and also make apple strudel, our favourite apple dessert. It takes more time than crumble but is worth the extra effort if you have the time. With any recipe, faster and easier with each repeat.







Makes about 12 servings:

First of all, cover one end of your kitchen table with a cloth and dust lightly with flour. If you have a 3 foot square table, that is ideal. I found the one I have which is longer, worked fine with me just using half of it (3 feet).

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and set aside

6oz/200g/1 1/2 cups, plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg
5 1/3 tablespoons/1/3 cup, water, room-temperature
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl; mix the egg, water, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, in a separate bowl; add the liquids all at once to the flour and salt and mix thoroughly. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Cover lightly with some of the melted butter and cover and leave at room temperature for 45 minutes. While dough is setting, proceed to the next step.

Peel, core and slice enough apples to make 6 cups. Set aside

3/4 cup coarsely torn fresh breadcrumbs, toasted in a 180C/350F oven for 5 minutes

6 oz/150g/1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup currants or raisins
grated zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a large size bowl, mix together one-half the toasted breadcrumbs, sugar, walnuts, currants/raisins, lemon zest, and cinnamon; add the sliced apples and thoroughly blend together.

Increase oven temperature to 200C/400F.

Roll the dough as thinly as possible on a floured surface before transferring it to the floured cloth on the table. Stretch the dough with hands underneath, palms down. Work around going along the sides of the table until the dough is stretched into about a 30 inch square. Butter lightly with some of the melted butter. Place the remaining breadcrumbs on one side of the stretched square; cover with the sliced apple mixture over the crumbs up to about 3 inches from the edge of the dough. Then, with hands, under the cloth, roll the from the apple end over onto dough and keep rolling until the strudel is at the end of the dough. Place onto a lightly buttered baking sheet, curving into a crescent. Lightly butter the top; place into the oven for 20 minutes. Bring the strudel out and lightly butter again and then replace (rotating the tray) for 25 minutes more.

Remove the strudel on the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool. Dust lightly with confectioner's sugar (icing sugar). Place on a platter and cut diagonally with a serrated knife. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Salmon Nicoise

This recipe makes a great light lunch or supper. The red onion is roasted to bring out its sweet flavour. The green beans, new potatoes, and eggs are simmered to the "just done" stage. Because of the protein contributed by the hard cooked eggs, very small pieces of grilled salmon are needed to complete the meal.






For two servings you will need:       Have two dinner plates ready

Two bunches of mixed salad leaves
Small bunch of fresh tarragon, sniped into small pieces (about one tablespoon)
100g green beans, halved and simmered about 5 minutes; drain and cool
4 new potatoes, simmered about 15 minutes until an inserted paring knife slides in
1 red onion, roasted in its peel, for 50 minutes at 220C; cool, peel and slice into quarters or smaller
1/2 cucumber, sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced horizontally
6 baby plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Handful of black pitted olives
1 Tablespoon vinaigrette
1/2 lime, squeezed of juice

2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise
2 small fillets of salmon (preferably Alaskan), grilled
Seasoning (salt, black pepper, garlic salt)

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients except the eggs and salmon; divide evenly onto two dinner plates.

Grill salmon fillets for about 3 minutes on each side, skin side up first. Season as desired after turning. When cooking is completed, remove skin with a small fish knife and place salmon on top of the mixed greens and vegetables on each plate. Add quartered eggs to each and  serve.

Stewed Apples

We are still harvesting apples from our tree just a few feet from the kitchen door. Thus, stewed apples are my current breakfast with a heaping tablespoon of low fat plain yogurt stirred in. Yummm!









Ingredients:

3 pounds apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
Ground cinnamon, good sprinkling
Ground ginger, good sprinkling
Ground nutmeg, good sprinkling
Honey, about 2 tablespoons
One lemon, squeezed
1/2 cup flaked almonds (optional)
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Put all the above ingredients into a large pan. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a small amount of apple juice or water if apples become dry.

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Apple Crumble

Our apple tree is full of red/green fruit ready for harvest. My husband picked a basket full this morning and helped me prepare several pans of crumble for the freezer. It is so handy to have as a ready dessert when friends are coming for dinner.

Husband Bob's contribution this morning was putting the fruit through our hand cranked apple master. It miraculously peels, cores and slices each apple in seconds. A big thank you again to my sister-in-law, Judy, who brought it as a gift a few years ago.


You will need one baking dish large enough to hold one pound/500g apples for this recipe. I used the aluminium ones pictured as I was freezing.

Ingredients:

One pound/500g peeled, cored, sliced tart apples
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Cinnamon, light sprinkling
Cloves, very light sprinkling
flaked almonds, optional, light sprinkling
1 tablespoon raisins, optional
1 tablespoon water

Put all the above ingredients straight into the baking pan and mix to evenly coat the apples.

Combine thoroughly and evenly cover the top of the prepared apples in the baking pan with:

4 oz/1/2 cup plain flour
1tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Bake for 40 minutes in a 350F/180C oven. Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard. Cover pan securely if freezing.