Skip to content
Food
Link copied to clipboard

Invite apples, pears before the dessert

In autumn, when apples and pears are plentiful, one's first instinct might be to fold them into a pie or a turnover. But do not overlook the possibilities of working them into soups, salads, and meat dishes.

In autumn, when apples and pears are plentiful, one's first instinct might be to fold them into a pie or a turnover. But do not overlook the possibilities of working them into soups, salads, and meat dishes.

Adding fruit to savory dishes might seem foreign to some cooks, but the practice isn't new. Thai chefs add pineapple to meat and rice dishes, the English drizzle gooseberry sauce on roasted pork, and the French, of course, have their duck a l'orange.

The smell of baking apples wafting through a kitchen will warm anyone on a gusty fall day.

The scent of baked pears may be less familiar, but I can assure you, it is no less inviting. Pears baked in cinnamon cream, gingerbread with a chunky pear sauce, or a pear and caramel pie could persuade any cook to stray toward the apple's more shapely sister.

Apple pie is a great finish for a meal, but apple-curry soup is a warming, tart start.

Russet potatoes act as the thickening agent, but remain largely transparent in the taste. The cumin and curry star, with a tang of apple and a hint of leek. The soup looks like butternut squash soup, but it's not as sweet.

Since this recipe comes from a health-conscious cookbook, The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, it calls for using water in place of some of the vegetable broth. If you aren't watching your sodium intake, feel free to use all broth and no water. It will yield a richer soup. And if the apple taste is a bit too tart for you, try adding a bit of maple syrup to sweeten.

Apples are often tossed in a green salad with blue cheese and walnuts, but I decided to try an apple-fennel slaw. The recipe uses julienned apples and fennel bulbs, a small, thinly sliced red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

The parsley in this recipe, as in the curry soup, is an essential ingredient, not just a garnish. It adds a green, peppery flavor that rounds out the apple's sweetness. This slaw is perfect for a mid-afternoon snack - the mix of apple and licoricelike fennel is light, crunchy, and refreshing.

Apples are often paired with roasted pork, so I decided to try a recipe that used Bosc pears alongside a pork roast glazed in a basic honey-Dijon sauce. When roasted in their brown skins, Bosc pears soften but hold some firmness. They also have a unique spiced sweetness, like a hint of cinnamon or clove.

Rounding out the roasted pork dish are carrots and the lovely but underused parsnip. Both sweeten with roasting, but the parsnip in particular begins to brown and caramelize on the bottom, giving a kick of sugar to a simple dish.

Instead of a salad or a plain vegetable, I served the pork with another pear dish: brown-butter cauliflower with pears and hazelnuts. I used a red Bartlett pear in this dish, which gave it a shot of color, a syrupy sweetness, and a soft texture. Bartletts lose their shape when cooked: I gently stirred them into the dish after I cooked the cauliflower and toasted hazelnuts in butter and a bit of sage. The pear with the browned butter was divine, melting in the mouth amid the crunch of the nuts and the tender-crisp bite of cauliflower. With the sage, the dish tastes subtle yet so sophisticated.

Apple and Fennel Slaw

Makes 8 to 10 servings

EndTextStartText

2 tablespoons fresh lemon

   juice

3 tart apples, such as Grav-         ensteins

2 small bulbs fennel,

   trimmed and cut into

   matchsticks

1 small red onion, cut in

   half and very thinly

   sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh

   flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground

   pepper, to taste

EndTextStartText

1. Put the lemon juice in a large bowl. Cut one of the apples in half, core it, and julienne it. Put the cut apple in the bowl and toss it with the lemon juice to keep it from browning. Repeat with the other apples.

2. Toss in all the remaining ingredients. Let stand for at least 20 minutes at room temperature. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

f Fine Cooking

Per serving (based on 10): 95 calories, 1 gram protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams sugar, 6 grams fat, no cholesterol, 26 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Cauliflower With Brown Butter, Pears, Sage, and Hazelnuts

Makes 8 to 10 servings

EndTextStartText

6 tablespoons unsalted

   butter

1 medium head cauliflower,

   cut into small florets

   about 3/4 inch wide

1/2 cup toasted, skinned, and

   chopped hazelnuts

8 fresh sage leaves, thinly

   sliced crosswise

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus

   more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground

   black pepper

2 large ripe pears, cored

   and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh

   flat-leaf parsley

EndTextStartText

1. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until light brown and bubbly. Add the cauliflower, hazelnuts, and sage. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is browned and crisp-tender, 6 to 7 more minutes.

2. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pear slices and parsley. Gently toss to combine and warm the pears. Season to taste with more salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Fine Cooking

Per serving (based on 10): 117 calories, 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams sugar, 9 grams fat, 18 milligrams cholesterol, 291 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber.

Glazed Pork Roast With Carrots, Parsnips, and Pears

Makes 4 to 6 servings

EndTextStartText

One (2-pound) center-cut

   boneless pork loin roast

Kosher salt and freshly

   ground black pepper

11/2 tablespoons Dijon or

   grainy mustard

11/2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons roughly

   chopped fresh sage,

   divided

1/2 pound carrots (3 or 4),

   peeled

1/2 pound parsnips (3 or 4),

   peeled

2 firm but ripe Bosc pears,

   quartered, cored, and

   stemmed

11/2 tablespoons olive oil;

   more for the pan

EndTextStartText

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil the bottom of a medium roasting pan or 15-by-10-inch Pyrex dish and set the pork in the center. Season the pork with salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, mix the mustard, honey, and half of the sage; spread on the top and sides of the pork. If the carrots and parsnips are thick (about 1 inch or larger around), cut them in half or quarters lengthwise so they're all roughly the same thickness (about 1/2 inch thick at their thickest part). Toss the vegetables and pear wedges with the olive oil and the remaining sage, season with salt and several grinds of pepper, and arrange around the pork.

3. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pan and roast in the center of the oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 145 degrees, 30 to 45 minutes (the cooking time will vary widely depending on the thickness of the roast; start checking early, and check frequently once the temperature reaches 130 degrees).

4. Transfer the pork to a carving board (if the vegetables and pears aren't fully tender by the time the pork is done, return them to the oven until tender, 5 to 10 minutes more). Let the pork rest for five minutes before slicing thinly. Serve with the vegetables, pears, and pan juices.

Fine Cooking

Per serving (based on 6): 498 calories, 43 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams sugar, 25 grams fat, 121 milligrams cholesterol, 168 milligrams sodium, 6 grams dietary fiber.

Curried Potato, Leek, and Apple Soup

Makes 6 servings

EndTextStartText

13/4 cups canned vegetable

   broth

5 cups water

3 large russet potatoes,

   peeled and coarsely

   chopped

3 leeks, white part only,

   thinly sliced

1 tart green apple such as

   Granny Smith, peeled,

   cored, and chopped

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons chopped fresh

   flat-leaf parsley

EndTextStartText

1. In a pan over high heat, bring the broth, water, potatoes, leeks, apple, curry powder, lemon juice, and cumin to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Transfer the soup, in batches, if necessary, to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Reheat as needed.

4. To serve, ladle into individual bowls. Top each with an equal amount of the parsley.

Per serving: 132 calories, 4 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams sugar, 1 gram fat, no cholesterol, 240 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber.