Post by kickingfrog on Jan 27, 2011 10:42:04 GMT
Baked peaches with an almond crust
This rough, buttery almond crust works with nectarines and apricots, too. Just scatter it over the halved and stoned fruit just before baking.
Serves 4.
4 ripe peaches or nectarines
50g shelled almonds
50g golden caster sugar
45g butter
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Wipe the peaches or nectarines and cut them in half. Tug out the stone, then place the halved fruits cut-side up in a shallow baking dish. Put the almonds in a food processor - there is no need to skin them - and blitz them. They should be somewhere between gravel and traditional ground almonds. (You just want them to lend a crunch to the soft fruit.) Add the sugar and butter and briefly continue to mix. Spoon the almond mixture on top of the peaches and bake for 45 minutes or until the fruit is melting soft and the top is crisp. An occasional basting with the buttery juices can only help.
Nigel Slater
The Observer,
Sunday 6 September 2009
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BAKED APPLES WITH DATES, AND MAPLE SYRUP AND BRANDY BUTTER (vegetarian)
Sad that brandy butter, with all its buttered-fudge flavour, is kept for one pudding eaten on one day of the year. I feel it deserves an outing with these fruit-stuffed apples, too.
Serves 12
12 large dessert apples
For the filling:
180g golden sultanas
180g stoned dates
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
a pinch of ground cinnamon
For the soft brandy butter:
150g butter at room temperature
75g light muscovado sugar
75g golden caster sugar
3 tbsp brandy (or more if you wish)
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Remove the core of each apple with an apple corer or a small knife. Score each apple lightly round its tummy with a sharp knife.
Put the sultanas in a mixing bowl. Chop the dates into pieces roughly the same size as the sultanas, then mix the two together with the maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. Stuff as much of the mixture as you can into the hollows in the fruit. If there is any fruit left over, put it into the roasting tin. Bake until the apples have puffed up and started to split over, revealing a fluffy interior of baked apple – about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the variety of apples.
To make the brandy butter, put the butter into the bowl of a food mixer and beat till soft. Add the sugar and continue beating till you have a soft, creamy consistency, then mix in the brandy. Serve with the apples.
Note: a baked apple ready to eat will have risen so much that its skin is split open into a wide smile; the interior will be turning to fluff, and frothing round the edges….
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/20/christmas-lunch-12-nigel-slater
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BAKED PEARS WITH MAPLE SYRUP
Sometimes I peel the pears for this dish, sometimes I don't. The result can be rustic or elegant, as you wish. Rough-skinned pears are often best without their skin – you might like to brush them with lemon juice as you peel them to prevent browning.
Serves 4.
pears 8 small (or 4 large ones)
maple syrup 4 tbsp
white wine or vermouth 6 tbsp
water 150ml
cinnamon a short stick
vanilla pod 1
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Peel the pears if you wish, or leave them as they are. (I only peel any with a very coarse skin.)
Place the pears snugly in an ovenproof dish. Mix the syrup, wine and water and pour over the pears. Split the vanilla pod in half and tuck in among the pears. Add the cinnamon stick. Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 40-50 minutes until soft and tender. Turning the pears once or twice during baking ensures they cook more evenly.
Serve the pears with the cream below.
CINNAMON CREAM FOR BAKED PEARS
double cream 300ml
ground cinnamon ½ tsp
the vanilla pod from the baked pears above
Put the cream into a small, nonstick saucepan. Stir in the cinnamon. Using the point of a kitchen knife, srubbishe out the seeds from the vanilla pod and stir them into the cream. Bring towards the boil, but stop just before the cream gets there. Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes or longer. Serve warm with pears and any syrup from the baking dish.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or visit guardian.co.uk/profile/nigelslater for all his reviews in one place
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