Big shout out to @progressivechef for making awesome apples the theme of the week! One of the most versatile fruits to cook with (in my opinion) and there’s plenty around here, thank goodness!

This edible relative of the rose family has been portrayed in so many ways throughout history with some sort of symbolism, so a fruit many consider rather common, maybe even boring, actually has one of the most exciting historical backgrounds. Plato referred to it as the food of love if thrown at one’s conquest- whether the love was reciprocated or not, it was advised that the apple be accepted to appreciate beauty. Maybe that’s taking it a tad too far- I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate an apple being thrown at his head as a declaration for my love, but each to their own.

So what to do with this fruit of love (apart from throwing it at potential lovers)? One of the things I miss about England is pub grub- who doesn’t fancy pie and chips now and again!- so English pub fare it is. To me apples are so quintessentially English (probably because we don’t have an abundant variety of fruits, being such a small country and all!)- apple cider, apple pie, hog roast with apple sauce, baked apples- the list goes on. So which way to swing- sweet or savoury? Maybe both?

So my dish(es) for week 7:

Glazed pork and apple donut; Apple cider sauce in a baked apple shell; Salted cinnamon apple chips

Glazed pork and apple donut

Mix together the dry ingredients: 1 ½ tsp fast-acting yeast, 450g strong bread flour, 3 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt and 1 egg, before adding 250ml warm milk. Give the ingredients a thorough mix and then knead into a smooth dough for 7 minutes. Leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hour. After this first stage of proving, shape the dough into 12 balls. Leave these for a further 1 hour to double in size.

Carefully deep fry these, flipping over to ensure a golden brown colour coats the entire dough ball. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Next, prepare the pork filling by blitzing together 100g pork liver, 100g lean pork mince, 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp sage, 2 tbsp brandy, salt and pepper. Pour into a lightly oiled loaf tin and place in a ban marie (water bath) in the oven at 160C. Allow to cook for 1 hour. Once cooked, blitz again to obtain a smooth paste.

For the apple filling, bake whole apples (cores removed, but ensure that there is no hole in the base) for 45 minutes at 180C. Once cooked, remove the soft cooked flesh from the skin, but keep enough filling to ensure the baked apple skin can withstand the sauce for later on. Puree the baked apple flesh in a blender.

The pork and the apple puree can now be pumped into the donuts- be careful not to add too much filling otherwise the donuts will split (guilty of splitting my first 3!).

A glaze made with some icing sugar and water (a moderately runny paste) can be brushed on at the end.

Apple cider sauce in a baked apple shell

Bring to the boil 500ml cider. Whisk in 1tbsp cornflour (prepared into a runny paste with water) until a thick sauce is achieved. When cooled slightly, pour into the baked apple shell- this is now ready for plating.

Salted cinnamon apple chips

Cut 1 apple into wedges, coat lightly with flour and cinnamon and shake roughly. Deep-fry until slightly tanned and remove. Sprinkle on some salt and devour- I mean plate!