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Savory Apples

Based on reader suggestions from my Tuesday post, (thanks for writing!) I took a field trip to the Apple Hut on Saturday morning. If you were there, I was the person staggering out with three big bags of apples. (We ate all the ones we bought last weekend.)

Their Macintosh (Macintoshes?) were HUGE. There is just something about a big apple—I had to have them. Applesauce here we come. Then there were the Courtlands, which also looked really lovely. I’m going to dust off my Julia Child and make the tart tatin that I saw her drop on TV. I’ll show you how its done, Julia! Finally, they had, in my opinion the queen of all eating apples, the Honeycrisp. I love their crisp, juicy sweetness. Slice it and eat it with a slice of cheddar cheese and you have lunch. That’s my plan for this week.

Fortunately, Apple Hut did have honeycrisp, they just didn’t have them on display. I asked one of the workers if I could get a bag and she disappeared into a back room. (I pictured her cautiously looking over her shoulder as she spun the combination dial to the vault where they keep them.) As precious as they are, however, they seemed reasonably priced for their rarity--a three pound bag was six bucks, so you shouldn’t need to fill out a loan application.

So, I loaded up my apple treasure and drove home, my mind buzzing with apple recipes. I had one for lunch as planned and then thought about dinner prep. I had already planned on making pork chops. Perfect! Everyone knows that apples go great with pork. (Now just tell me you don’t have Peter Brady in your head saying “Pork Chops and Applesauce”. Me too.) But I didn’t want a sweet applesauce, so instead I made apple chutney, a savory accompaniment. I used the Courtlands, which didn’t turn to mush, but instead stayed in a nice tidy and tender dice. It tasted great with the chops.

Please let us know if you have any savory (non-sweet) way that you use apples. Or if you didn’t share your favorite orchard last time, let us know.

I’ll be out of apples and need to buy some more..oh ..probably on Thursday…

Adapted minutely from Martha Stewart Living

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 firm apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup dried cranberries (the original recipe called for golden raisins)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Pinch of cayenne pepper (I used Penzey’s Black and Red seasoning and skipped the pepper below)

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan; add onion. Sauté over medium heat until translucent and beginning to brown, stirring often, about 6-8 minutes.

2. Add apples; sauté 4 minutes more. Add vinegar, cranberries, ginger, mustard, and cayenne. Stir well to combine; cover.

3. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until apples are very tender but hold their shape, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve over pork chops.

Lisa Parsley is a Janesville native writes about food and cooking for Gazettextra.com. Lisa is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. Her opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.