Our orchards offer a bounty of apples in the autumn. Last year, I went apple picking and returned home with bags full of different varieties, each with their own nuanced flavour, texture and unique history, and I made industrial amounts of apple compote, which I froze to eat throughout the year. And I can’t resist fresh apples sliced into crunchy matchsticks and thrown into a salad, especially with something earthy such as kohlrabi. I have also discovered that tart fruit, such as bramley apples, are an excellent foil for a spicy dal, too. No apologies for yet another apple pudding – you simply can’t beat cooked apples, sponge and custard.
Granny smith and kohlrabi som tam with peanuts
This is a take on my favourite Thai papaya salad. Kohlrabi gives you a similar texture to green papaya, while the granny smiths lend sharpness. Both are far more cost-effective and, of course, easier to find.
Prep 40 min
Serves 4
Salt
50g green beans, topped and cut into thirds
2 fat garlic cloves, peeled
2-4 red birds-eye chillies (depending on your heat tolerance)
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp salted peanuts, roughly chopped, plus 1 tbsp extra to garnish
250g kohlrabi (about 2 bulbs)
2 granny smith apples
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp palm sugar, or soft brown sugar
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, then blanch the beans for two minutes. Drain and refresh in ice-cold water, then drain again.
Pound the garlic in a large mortar with a pinch of salt, then add the chilli and pound again gently to bruise it – the more you pound the chilli, the hotter the mix will be. Add the tomatoes, blanched beans and peanuts to the mortar, and roughly crush with the pestle.
Peel the kohlrabi, and peel and core the apples, then cut both into fine matchsticks, ideally using a julienne peeler or mandoline (otherwise, a sharp knife and some patience will do the job). Working in batches, if necessary, add the kohlrabi to the mortar, lightly bruise it, then scoop everything out into a large bowl.
Mix the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in the mortar, until the sugar dissolves, then taste – it should be a balance of sour, salty and sweet, so adjust as necessary.
Put the dressing, apple and all the remaining salad ingredients in the bowl, then toss to make sure the dressing is well distributed. Sprinkle on the remaining peanuts and serve.
Sweet-and-sour apple dal
A wonderful Bengali cook once made me a raw mango dal that I loved, and here I’ve replaced the mouth-puckering mango with sharp bramley apples.
Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
250g red lentils, washed thoroughly
For the tempering
1 tbsp ghee, or coconut oil
1 heaped tsp brown mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 dried red chilli
1-2 green bird’s eye chillies, finely chopped (I keep the seeds in for heat)
1 thumb ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 bramley apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp caster sugar
Sea salt, to taste
Basmati rice, to serve
Put the washed lentils in a saucepan and add 1.2 litres of cold water. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and leave to cook for 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are very soft. Once cooked, go in with a whisk and mix thoroughly, so the lentils get broken up.
Meanwhile, make the temper. Put the ghee in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, then add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they splutter and pop, add the dried and fresh chillies and the ginger, and cook briefly.
Stir in the apple, sprinkle in the turmeric and sugar, and cook on a low heat for about five minutes. Add the spiced apple mixture to the cooked lentils, season to taste and cook for five minutes more. Serve hot with freshly cooked basmati rice.
Apple and blackberry pudding
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Serves 6
4 sharp apples, such as granny smith, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
100g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
500g good-quality vanilla custard
100g blackberries
For the sponge
225g butter, plus extra for greasing
225g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self-raising flour
Salt
125ml milk
50g demerara sugar
Put the apple, sugar, lemon zest and a tablespoon of cold water in a medium saucepan Cover, put over a medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until the fruit is just tender.
To make the sponge, heat the oven to 180C (160C fan) /350F/gas 4, and grease a 157mm x 50mm x 232mm (1.8 litre) ceramic baking dish with butter.
In a stand mixer, whisk the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition; if the mixture starts to curdle, stir in a spoonful of flour. Sift in the remaining flour with a fat pinch of salt and fold in with a metal spoon. Pour in the milk and mix gently.
Pour half the batter into the greased dish and use the back of large spoon to make a shallow well in the centre. Pour the custard into the well, top with the apples and blackberries, then cover with the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar, then bake for an hour, until golden but still a bit wobbly in the centre.
Serve warm or, if you want more of a cake, chill overnight and portion into squares.
