Weekly Food Challenge

Starting simple this week. I made this up a few months ago, and when I was invited on short notice to stormsearch's parents' for Giftmas, I hadn't shopped and it was the best thing I could take along as a present. Turned out to be the best present I've ever given them. It keeps for ages in the fridge and I still have some left; the parents' jar disappeared in about a week.

Apple sauce

1. Get some apples. For me this was two huge cooking apples and two Braeburns, because that's what they had left by the time I got to the farmers' market.
2. Peel the apples first (much easier to hold this way), core them and chop 'em up, as small as you like. Dump them into a saucepan.
3. Cider. The better quality the cider, the gooder the sauce is, but bear in mind that really good quality cider is for drinking. I usually use Weston's Vintage because it's easy to buy by the bottle in the supermarket, but sometimes I'm fortunate enough to have a box dispenser from Thistly Cross. Slosh enough cider into the pan to cover the apples. Any leftover in the bottle is the perquisite of the chef.
   • Note: if using a box of cider, do not claim the entire remainder of the box as the chef's perk. At least not until you've finished cooking. Safety first!
4. A piece of fresh ginger the size of your thumb. Peel the papery skin off with a knife, and grate the flesh into the pan using the fine side of your cheesegrater. (I have a nutmeg grater which works even better.) When you grate ginger, it leaves a fibrous mesh behind: don't put this into the sauce, but give it a good squeeze over the pan to get the juices out.
5. A handful of cloves. You want about six. Count them into the pan, so you know how many you need to fish out later.
6. Brown sugar to taste: two teaspoons ought to do it, but more if you're using particularly tart apples and less if you're going to feel guilty about it.
7. Simmer everything on a low heat until the apples are soft and the liquid has evaporated off. Stir occasionally, and mush it up with the back of the spoon when you do.
8. Once it's done to your liking, turn the heat off and let it cool down. Fish out the cloves and discard.
9. When it's cold, spoon it into jars (nutella jars are perfect) and keep it in the fridge.

Obviously it goes brilliantly with pork chops, but also with beef and most other red meats. We also made some excellent canapes with grilled wedges of good-quality black pudding (Stornoway, natch), served on blinis with a dollop of apple sauce on top and a dusting of cinnamon.

There's no picture because it's mush. It doesn't look particularly attractive. It tastes fantastic. I have been advised never to return to stormsearch's parents without another jar of the stuff.