A few days before the holidays, I was gifted a 20 lb bag of red delicious apples that had been foraged from a single "back-yard tree" growing out in the countryside.
The apples had been harvested 2 months prior and stored in cold storage until they were given to me about a week ago.
All the apples were oddly shaped, blemished and they varied in size.
Whenever I am given food as a gift, I am thrilled and I generally make it my mission, not to let any of it go to waste. I appreciate the effort that was made by the plant or tree and that of the people who provided care for it, took the time to harvest and store it and after all of that, thought to give it away.
What a precious gift...giving nourishment to someone else, is.
Today, I took 12 of these imperfectly, perfect apples and made a fantastic apple crisp using an Acti-Fry appliance, that is made by a company called T-fal.
- Start by peeling, coring and chopping the apples into medium sized pieces. (You will need 4 medium sized apples per person.)
You'll notice that the apples have bruises and scabs. They are less than perfect which makes them just right to be used in a crisp.
- Place 2 tbsp of coconut oil in the bottom of the Acti-fry.
- Add all the apple pieces.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp of ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of ground cardamon over top of the apples.
- Place the filled Acti-Fry basket in the Acti-Fry unit.
- Turn the power on and set the timer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, the apples and spices will look like this.
- Add 1 cup of roughly ground or chopped almonds. I use a food processor to do this, but you could use a high power blender or chop them by hand with a large butcher's knife.
This is the consistency of the "crumble" that you want to achieve.
- Add the chopped almonds, evenly to the top of the apples.
- Next, add 1/2 cup of roughly chopped walnuts, evenly to the top of the apples.
- Next, add a 1/2 cup of Sultana raisins.
- Next, add a 1/2 cup of maple syrup.
- Once all the ingredients are loaded on top of the apples, close the lid of the Acti-Fry, turn it on and let the mixture cook for another 15 minutes.
(This is what the basket of your Acti-Fry will look like, once it's loaded with the nuts, raisins and maple syrup.)
Once the mixture has cooked for an additional 15 minutes, this is what it will look like.
(If you don't have an Acti-Fry, you can simply grease a 9" x 9" casserole dish with coconut oil and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine. Then, fill the casserol dish with the mixture and bake for 1 hour.)
- Plate your apple crisp and top with homemade coconut whipped cream.
To make the whipped cream, you can find the recipe here:
https://steemit.com/food/@rebeccaryan/paelo-friendly-high-fat-vegan-whip-cream
Here's a closer look:
Sticky, crunchy and naturally sweetened with the sugar contained in the apples, the raisins and maple syrup.
No additionally brown sugar or oats are necessary.
I ate this for breakfast, but this dish would make a wonderful dessert on its own or used as a filling for pies or tarts.
I like to serve it warm, but it is delicious cold, as well.
I welcome your comments and invite you to follow me on my journey.
~ Rebecca Ryan