STEWED APPLES WITH SULTANAS AND ROSEWATER

A twist to an English classic

• 700g Bramley apples
• 300g Cox’s apples
• 30g muscavado sugar
• 100g sultanas
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 100g whole blanched almonds
• 1-2 tablespoon Arabica Rosewater
  

Serves 4

Peel, core and chop the apples into large chunks and put into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan with the sugar, the sultanas and the cinnamon stick. Pour on boiling water until the apples are just covered and leave to simmer on a low heat.

Meanwhile, preheat a frying pan and dry toast the nuts until lightly golden. Set aside on a plate and leave to cool so they become crunchy.

When the apples are soft and just breaking down.

Take the saucepan off the heat and add the rosewater to taste.

Serve in small desert bowls and sprinkle with the toasted almonds and accompany with a spoon of thick, set yogurt.

OR go one decadent step further…

Variations

ALMOND CRUMBLE TOPPING

100g whole blanched almonds (finely chopped by hand)
80g chilled butter
170g self raising flour, sifted
100g Demerara sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade (400 degrees Fahrenheit / gas mark 6).

You can use a blender to make your crumble but it’s so much more rewarding to do it by hand and a great way of involving young ones in the kitchen. Use a large bowl, rub the butter into the sifted flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the chopped almonds and sugar and mix through gently.
 
Sprinkle the crumble mixture thinly across an ovenproof baking dish or tray bake the crumble mix on the centre shelf of the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crisp. Simply sprinkle over the apples and serve with a spoonful of Greek-style yogurt.