2012 Ingredient of the Week 4: Apples, Pears & Peaches

The Hill Billy

Hi folks - Apologies for the delay. This week, we'll be looking for your recipes for apples, pears & peaches - sweet & savory.

Ta,

tHB

Mrs Fox

This caught my attention while watching The Hairy Bikers’ Mississippi Adventure on Good Food Network recently.



You will need
410g can peach slices in juice
5 tbsp malted milk drink powder (Horlicks will do)
150g vanilla ice cream (roughly 5 scoops)
Method
1. Put the peaches and their juice in a blender or food processor. Add the malted milk powder and blend to a smooth puree.
2. Scoop the ice cream into the blender. Blitz until well combined then pour into tall glasses - over extra ice if you like - and serve immediately.

sdp

peach & cardamom chutney

1.5kg peaches
1 large onion
120g coarsely chopped raisins
330g brown sugar,
180ml cider vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods ( bruised)
1 tsp whole allspice
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

cut small cross in bottom of each peach, lower gently into large pot of boiling water,
boil for 1 min,
then place in bowl of cold water,
peal peaches, remove stones, and chop coarsely,
combine peaches with rest of ingredients in large saucepan
stir over low heat till sugar dissolves.
bring to boil/ then reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 45 mins or until thick, stirring occasionally,
pour into hot sterillised jars,
makes about 2 litres,
best after at least 4 weeks,
some to enjoy and some for gifts

Dizzyblonde

I make this cake with apple but someone I know makes it with pear and says it's equally delicious. It's really easy to make and has a crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon topping


Ingredients
8 oz cooking apples (prepared weight)
1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 oz. demerara sugar
12 oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 oz. butter or margarine
5 oz granulated sugar
2 eggs
8 tablespoons milk (120ml)

Topping: 1 oz. demerara sugar & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Method
Dice apple and toss in cinnamon & demerara.
Rub butter or margarine into flour, add sugar and apples and beaten eggs/milk., Stir well to blend.
Spoon into a lined 8" round cake tin and sprinkle top with demerara/cinnamon mix.
Bake at 160C for about 55 minutes. Test with a skewer, if it comes out almost clean the cake's done.

Jenners!

Delicious and simple. The nicest salad I've ever had with apples.
Ingredients

• Half a apple per plate, divided into slivers
• Mixed salad leaves, two handfuls per person usually suffice (mixture of bitter leaves, rocket and spinach). Chopped.
• Slice of goats cheese with rind, one slice per plate.
• Walnuts. 4 nuts per person, cut in half.
• Cherry tomatoes, cut into four. Three tomatoes per plate.
• Honey to drizzle

Method

• In a warm grill, place the slices of Goats cheese on parchment paper and heat until texture goes slightly gooey and begins to golden on top.
  
• Place leaves on plate, toss on tomatoes, apple slices and walnuts.
  
• Place goats cheese on centre of salad.
  
• Drizzle each plate with a teaspoon, or two, of sweet floral honey.

Dinkie

My mother makes a really simple dessert. It sounds a bit odd - but its amazing. The crunch of the burnt sugar with the juices from the peaches and cream.

I made if for my OH (who scoffed at the thought before hand) and he loved it.


Can peaches
Whipped double Cream
Dark brown demerara sugar
1 shallow dish

Lay a layer of peaches at the bottom of your shallow dish. Cover with cream.
Put a thin layer of the sugar on top of the cream
Grill until the sugar goes crunchy (this is enough to warm the cream/peaches).
Serve

Bullseye1

Similar to the Goats cheese salad but with a nice mild blue cheese.

The Sweeper

Pears as a starter - this is a variation on a starter Minder makes:

Take some ripe pears - not overripe (so not squishy) but not so underripe that they're hard. Peel them but leave them whole. Place them in a sauce pan and cover them in a half and half mixture of white wine and water, enough to just cover them. Bring them up and just as they boil, turn down to a simmer and simmer them until they're soft - don't allow them to sit on a rolling boil for ages, but simmer until a knife goes in and out like it's on its way through butter.

Leave the pears to cool in the cooking liquor.

When you're just ready to plate up your starter, take out the pears by the stalk. Cut them in half and trim out the stalk, core and end of the pear. When you're removing the core, take it out as an oval piece so you have a long indent in the centre of the cooked pear. Place the pear half on a piece of greaseproof and gently slice it, keeping the shape of the pear but flattening it out.

Dress some plates with a bed of rocket. Cook out a balsamic reduction in a pan with balsamic and some of the pear cooking liquor. Take some peeled hazelnuts and chop them (not too finely - into quarters) and roast them in a pan or under the grill until they take on some colour but aren't burned.

Crumble blue cheese into the cavity left by the core in the cooked pear, and place the pear under the grill until the cheese melts and starts to colour.

Place the warm pear half with melted blue cheese on the bed of rocket and sprinkle with the roasted hazelnuts. Finish by drizzling the balsamic reduction over.

The Sweeper

Take some ripe peaches. Cut them into quarters, removing the stone. Lay them in a roasting tray and add a little sweet white wine. Put them into the oven and bake them until soft. Top them with brown sugar and return them to the oven until the sugar caramelises.

Make some thin crepe pancakes. Wrap the baked peaches in a crepe and drizzle over the cooking liquor from the roasting pan. Serve with a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream.



Other peach recipe for the best breakfast ever, this uses tinned peach slices.

Take a cup of porridge oats and add them to pan. Add one cup of water and one cup of whole milk, and a pinch of salt. Then add:

Dried cranberries
Raisins
Green sultanas
Dried goji berries
Dried prunes or dates, chopped

Cook the porridge mix with the berries until you have a well cooked porridge mix and the fruit is starting to stew. Decant into a bowl. Sprinkle brown sugar over and put it under the grill until the sugar starts to caramelise. Top with a scant tablespoonful of clotted cream, and arrange drained peach slices around the top, spiralling out from the centre.

EZ24GET

Salmon, Apples and Fennel

1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
2/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 t0 5 0unces skinless salmon fillets, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup butter 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium fennel bulbs trimmed, cored, and cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup honey
4 medium apples, cord peeled and cut into thin wedges snipped fresh parsley

Mix flour salt and pepper, set aside.
In shallow dish whisk egg with waterIn third shallow plate put bread crumbs.
Rinse fillets and pat dry Bread by dredging in flour then dip in egg mixture and then roll in breadcrumbs to coat. Set aside.

In a skillet melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and all of the oil. Add fennel, cook, stirring over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add apples cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes longer- until apples and fennel are tender. Stir in the honey. Transfer to bowl, set aside.

HEAT remaining 2 tablespoos of butterin the same skillet. Add salmon and over medium heat cook fillets 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Turn only once. If starts to brown too fast turn down the heat to medium low. Transfer fillets and apple/ fennel mixture to serving plate and garnish with fresh parsley.

EZ24GET

Apple Dapple Cake

This is a moist apple and nut filled cake drizzled with sauce for extra sweetness

3 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda (bread soda)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 beaten eggs
1 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups finely chopped cooking apples
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup whipping cream

grease and flour a 10 inch springform pan 0r a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350* F. (I think that' about 178* C. but it's normal temperature for baking cakes)

In large bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center and set aside.
In medium bowl combine eggs, oil, apple juiceand vanilla extract. whisk to combine well. Add apples and chopped nuts to liquid ingredients. Add liquid ingredients to well in dry ingredients. gradually combine , but be careful not to over mix, stir just until all ingredients are just moistened. Spread in prepared pan. ( if you use spring form be sure to place on baking sheet) Bake AT 350* f. about 65 minutes for spring form pan or 45 to 50 miutes for 13x9x2 " pan. Cool in pan on rack (remove sides of spring form pan)
Sauce: combine brown sugar, butter and cream in small saucepan Cook stirring constantly over medium heat just until bubbly and sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly then drizzle over cake.