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As autumn turns to winter apples begin to
appear in the Nikau kitchen.
It can’t be denied that for a crisp,
slightly tart, juicy eating apple it’s hard to go past a Braeburn. Discovered
in Motueka in the fifties, and thought to be a cross between a Lady Hamilton
and a Granny Smith the Braeburn has spread across the apple growing world and
is now one of the most important commercial apple varieties. Even its
supermarket trademarked off-spring like the Jazz and Mahana varieties make for
good eating. Good eating though, doesn’t always mean good cooking.
At Nikau we are lucky enough to have access
to some terrific apples, some are older heritage varieties, others more recent.
From the Dutch Boskoop, dating from the 1850’s, to Merton Russet an English
apple first grown in the 1920’s, or Freyberg, developed in New Zealand in the
30’s to Charden, a 1970’s French apple, we
have the chance to experiment with a wide range of interesting varieties. We
have used our apples across the menu and what strikes us as one of the key
differences between these apples and the apples that your average vegie
wholesaler only know as green or red, is texture. Cooked, many of these apples
retain their shape and are perfect as a component of a dish. Others will fluff
up beautifully, to be incorporated into pies or cakes.
An autumn regular in our cabinet is a
Worcestershire apple tart. To get the perfect tart you need the right apple,
and ironically, our favourites for this very English recipe are the very European
Boskoop and Charden. They fluff beautifully and make a rich custard like
filling which is a perfect base for the flavours of spice and rum that lace the
apple. Over the cooler months, our
breakfast regulars will be sure to come across caramelised apples on the menu
as a topping for our porridge. Aromatic, sweet and sharp Cox’s Orange is our
favourite here. Panfried in butter ‘til
golden, then allowed to caramelise with sugar and apple juice, this classic
English apple retains its shape and is beautifully tart and sweet. Spooned over
creamy oats with lashings of caramelly apple juice and toasted nuts, these
apples make a Wellington winter southerly bearable.
On the menu recently has been a lovely
autumn dish. Serrano ham, with roasted Merton Russets, grilled endive and
sherry dressing. The Merton is a small golden russet apple with a complex sweet
and spicy flavour, complementing the richness of the ham and the bitterness of
the endive.
Want to know more about apples? Orange Pippin is a website for apple geeks, with information on hundreds of varieties, and an orchard registry enabling you to search for a variety anywhere in the apple growing world. Once you’ve found your perfect pomme, try Edible Garden for a range of seedlings, if you have the inclination to grow your own, or visit Treedimensions for a huge range of superb organic fruit.