Caramelized Cardamom Spiced Apples with Pistachio Cream
It’s a weeknight and you want pie. Unfortunately, you’re husband (and resident crust-maker) is still at school and you are not confident enough (read: too lazy) to make a crust. My solution: Caramelized Cardamom Spiced Apples with Pistachio Cream, essentially an Indian scented pie filling without the bother of a crust. We have had Indian flavors on the mind recently and have served this as an accompaniment to Pork Vindaloo. This quick recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey.
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
Cardamom Apples:
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 4 tart apples, unpeeled, cored, and thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped or whole
Pistachio whipped cream:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios
- Pinch (1/16 teaspoon) kosher salt
Steps:
- For the Cardamom Apples: Heat a large cast iron (or non-stick) skillet over medium heat, and melt the butter. Add the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, garam masala, salt, and brown sugar to the skillet and stir gently to mix.
- Add the apples and walnuts and adjust the temperature to medium high heat. Cook the apple mixture for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The dish is done when the apples have begun to caramelize. The liquid will almost all boil off, resulting in a thick syrup.
- For the Pistachio Whipped cream: In a stand mixer, whisk together the whipping cream, almond extract, sugar, and salt. Whip until stiff peaks form.
- Serve the apples warm, with a large dollop of whipped cream, garnished with pistachios.
Notes:
- This dish should be eaten immediately after preparation and does not keep well.
- Caramelized Cardamom Spiced Apples and Pistachio Whipped Cream are also delicious served over vanilla ice cream, as a crepe filing, or on pancakes or waffles.
Apple Almond Tart
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some eat greatness in an apple tart. We count ourselves in the third category. Our Apple Almond Tart is a trifecta of dessert greatness. A crisp and flaky butter pastry base, creamy almond cheese filling, and delicately cooked apples for tart contrast. We recommend that you go ahead and double this recipe the first time, as we we polished off an entire tart ourselves in record speed.
Berbere Spiced Chicken, Doro Wat
Berbere Spiced Chicken evokes memories of Ethiopia, the place where Paul and I first became friends. During our time in Addis, I got sick and Paul was appointed my hospital companion. I found a kindred spirit and we spent the rest of our time in Ethiopia together at every opportunity. A few months later, back home again, our relationship evolved into something more. The nuanced spice of berbere is a shared food memory; the start of a relationship, excitement of plans, passionate discussions, and the flash of recognition at finding a life partner.
Berbere is a distinctive spice mixture from Ethiopia -- fiery hot balanced with pungent garlic and warming spices. Many households prepare their own berbere mixture, and tarps laid out with drying chilies and spices were a common sight and smell in Ethiopia. Berbere Spiced Chicken is our greatly simplified and adapted version of the classic Ethiopian Doro Wat. Once you hunt down some berbere seasoning at your local spice store or online, this dish can be made in an hour and half with everyday ingredients.
Chilled Cherry Soup with Cardamom, Meggyleves
The origins of this chilled cherry soup are Hungarian. But I came to know this dish by way of a memorable Christmas breakfast with Paul’s family. Between courses of oyster stew and cardamom bread, there was a mysterious ruby-hued soup. Combining the warmth of cardamom with the sweet tartness of cherries, this Chilled Cherry Soup is tangy, vivid, and refreshing: a lovely foil to the richness of holiday feasting.
Red Wine Poached Pears
Some recipes have a timeless appeal, and are reinvented over decades, even centuries. Pears poached in sweetened wine are one of the oldest confectionery treats. Dating back to Medieval Europe, pears were looked on more favorably than apples and often cooked in honeyed red wine with spices. Our version of Red Wine Poached Pears is a simple and easily adaptable dessert redolent with rich warming spices, evoking the vibrant hues of autumn. Poached Pears make a unique topping to an ice cream Sunday, and we like to serve them with red wine sauce and homemade caramel. If you have pears leftover, try our Salted Caramel & Pear Bread Pudding.
Apple Walnut Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze
Thanks for following along with our new adventures! We recently moved from Pittsburgh to Haiti where we are starting a 5 year volunteer assignment with a non-profit relief and development organization. We will be in transition for the next few months as we complete our in-country orientation, language study, spend time living with host families in both the countryside and capital... and lest we forget, have our first baby somewhere in there as well! Please bear with us as we will not have ready access to internet or a kitchen throughout this time. We will continue to share new recipes that we've prepared in advance, and updates on our new life in Haiti as often as we are able.
As much as we love the tropical fruits and Caribbean flavors of our new home in Haiti, we are nostalgic for the apple and spice combination, so classic to this time of year in North America. We love this old-fashioned Apple Walnut Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze, pungent with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger, glazed with a salty caramel.
