Savoury baked apples

I always think of stuffed vegetables, and fruit, being a bit retro and reminiscent of a slightly pretentious 1970’s dinner party menu - but what goes around comes around and, as I always say to my wife - give your mother a break. Or at least when it comes to her dinner party menus.

Baked apples probably wouldn’t have featured in one of my mother-in-law’s west London dinner parties. They’re more Jane Austin or Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour where they’d probably have featured as part of an enormous breakfast buffet.

They’re actually quite hard to cook as, even when left whole, Bramley apples have a tendency to explode when they reach a certain point. You need the sharp acidity so other apples aren’t really an option - although, if you can get them, Raymond Blanc’s beloved Golden Reinette might be an option.

If you like jazzing up your Sunday roast a stuffed baked apple would be an option but I’d be more inclined to serve them a s a simple supper - with mash and gravy - and maybe an extra sausage on the side.

4 I always think of stuffed vegetables, and fruit, being a bit retro and reminiscent of a slightly pretentious 1970’s dinner party menu - but what goes around comes around and, as I always say to my wife - give your mother a break. Or at least when it comes to her dinner party menus. Baked apples probably wouldn’t have featured in one of my mother-in-law’s west London dinner parties. They’re more Jane Austin or Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour where they’d probably have featured as part of an enormous breakfast buffet. They’re actually quite hard to cook as, even when left whole, Bramley apples have a tendency to explode when they reach a certain point. You need the sharp acidity so other apples aren’t really an option - although, if you can get them, Raymond Blanc’s beloved Golden Reinette might be an option. If you like jazzing up your Sunday roast a stuffed baked apple would be an option but I’d be more inclined to serve them a s a simple supper - with mash and gravy - and maybe an extra sausage on the side.

400 g Ben’s Farm Sausages – skinned. Pork & Apple are the obvious choice but the Italian ones with fennel would work

2 tbsp Ben's Farm Shop Pear & Ginger chutney

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

chopped sage leaves

1 white onion, peeled, finely diced and softened in a little olive oil for ten minutes.

2 cloves of finely chopped and squashed garlic – added to the onions after five minutes

Salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp breadcrumbs

Butter

Core the apples with an apple corer and carefully make a hole big enough for the filling, I sliced off the top of the apple and removed most of the flesh with a spoon. If you compromise the outer layer, the apple will almost certainly collapse in the oven

Mix the sausage meat, chutney, cooked onion and garlic and the chopped herbs together to make a stuffing - season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill each hole with the sausage stuffing mixture, spoon on the bread crumbs and dot each apple with a little butter. Place the apples into a buttered oven dish, roasting tray or sauté pan.

Add a little cider or water to the dish to stop the juices burning and caramelising, and bake in a pre-heated oven 180ﹾC for 45 to 60 minutes depending on the size of the apples

Baste the apples regularly with the juices in the dish and add a little water if they dry out. Keep an eye on them and test with a skewer when you think they might be done. Remove from the oven as soon as they are. Once they are cooked, gently take them out of the pan using a slotted spoon, loosely cover them with foil and set aside for 5 minutes before serving.

Add a cup of stock and a good glug of cider (Burrow Hill’s Ice Cider was perfect) and reduce. Stir in a teaspoon each of Dijon mustard, cheap balsamic and Cumberland sauce, a couple of tbsps. Of cream and reduce to the desired consistency.

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