Olivier grew up in Cantal and in his family, cheese is a serious matter. When we lived in Chicago his parents smuggled at each visit kilos of cantal, vacuum packed by a conspiring cousin. Thank God they never got caught and we can now source our own Cantal legally. Apples make a dream team with tangy old cantal, and this great recipe illustrates their chemistry beautifully. A lovely meal for a laid back evening.
Baked apples stuffed with cantal cheese, smoked pancetta, hazelnuts and raisins
|
Recipe by: adapted from Cuisine et Vins de France, Feb-March 2002 Busy:15 min, Total prep time: 45 min Serves: 4 |
Chop coarsely the hazelnuts. Sauté the pancetta on a dry non-stick frying pan for about 4 minutes or until nicely browned. When ready, transfer onto a plate covered with a couple of paper towels to absorb the extra fat.
Dice the cantal into small cubes, wash and dry the apples. Cut a hat on the stem side of each apple 3/4 of the way up and reserve. With a small pairing knife, cut a large cavity inside each apple, leaving at most 1 cm of flesh all around. Do not pierce it through, otherwise the cheese will escape through the bottom when baking.
Mix together the pancetta cubes, cheese, half the hazelnuts, raisins, and a bit of pepper (no need to add salt, the cheese and pancetta have enough of it). Stuff the apples with the cheese mixture, pressing it well into the cavities with your fingers.
Melt the butter and brush it on the skin of each apples. This will prevent the skin from wrinkling and give it a lovely glossy finish.
Place their hat back on each apple and transfer to a gratin dish filled with one 1cm water; bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the salad and mix it with the remaining nuts, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve the salad on each plate and place one hot baked apple in the middle.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Chop coarsely the hazelnuts. Sauté the pancetta on a dry non-stick frying pan for about 4 minutes or until nicely browned. When ready, transfer onto a plate covered with a couple of paper towels to absorb the extra fat.
Dice the cantal into small cubes, wash and dry the apples. Cut a hat on the stem side of each apple 3/4 of the way up and reserve. With a small pairing knife, cut a large cavity inside each apple, leaving at most 1 cm of flesh all around. Do not pierce it through, otherwise the cheese will escape through the bottom when baking.
Mix together the pancetta cubes, cheese, half the hazelnuts, raisins, and a bit of pepper (no need to add salt, the cheese and pancetta have enough of it). Stuff the apples with the cheese mixture, pressing it well into the cavities with your fingers.
Melt the butter and brush it on the skin of each apples. This will prevent the skin from wrinkling and give it a lovely glossy finish.
Place their hat back on each apple and transfer to a gratin dish filled with one 1cm water; bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the salad and mix it with the remaining nuts, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve the salad on each plate and place one hot baked apple in the middle.
Be bold when you empty the apples, the most typical mistake in making this recipe is to leave too much apple flesh. Don't waste the flesh, cook it into a compote for dessert.
If you cannot find cantal, use comté instead, reblochon will also work well.
For a vegetarian version, replace the pancetta with sautéed mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.
If you cannot find cantal, use comté instead, reblochon will also work well.
For a vegetarian version, replace the pancetta with sautéed mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
4 large apples
160 g cantal cheese
100 g smoked pancetta cubes
100 g hazelnuts
1-1/2 tablespoon raisins
150 g mixed salad
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
A knob of butter.
4 large apples
160 g cantal cheese
100 g smoked pancetta cubes
100 g hazelnuts
1-1/2 tablespoon raisins
150 g mixed salad
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
A knob of butter.
Copyright © 2009 Tasty Diaries. All rights reserved.
