Apples

Here are some recipes which will take you from breakfast to supper, showing the apple's versatility.

Bircher Muesli
What better way to start the day? This recipe will keep hunger pangs at bay and it's delicious to boot.

200 g (2 cups) rolled oats
350 ml (1 ½ cups) milk or apple juice
2 red apples
125 g natural yoghurt
Fresh fruit (seasonal)

Serves 4

Put the oats in a bowl. Add liquid and leave in a cold place or in the refrigerator overnight.

Roughly grate unskinned apples and stir into oat mixture. Add enough natural yoghurt so that there is a fairly runny consistency.

Serve with fresh fruit sprinkled on top.

Goat's cheese and apple croustade
This would make the perfect light lunch.

1 log of goat's cheese, weighing 200g, cut into 8 slices
4 slices of crusty white bread
2 crisp eating apples (cut into 8 even rounds)
Cayenne pepper
Olive oil

Serves 4

Cut out 4 circles of bread. Fry until crisp and drain on kitchen paper.

Place croutons on lined baking tray. Place one apple ring on each croustade, followed by a slice of cheese. Dust with cayenne. Repeat the process.

Place in preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) Gas 6 for 15 minutes until golden.

Serve with a salad of lamb's lettuce and radicchio, dressed with raspberry and hazelnut dressing.

Calvados Ice Cream
This is delicious served with roast apples. Peel and cut up some eating apples or cookers (they need more cooking time). Melt some butter in a pan and pour over the fruit. Sprinkle over some cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Lightly dust with brown sugar. If you use eaters, this is unnecessary. Put in a medium oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Do not over do it, as the apples will turn mushy. You want them to retain their shape. Serve with this luxurious ice cream.

Whites of 2 large eggs
180g Demerara sugar
6 tablespoons water
Vanilla extract
5 tablespoons Calvados
425ml whipping cream

Serves 8

Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they stand in soft peaks.

Put sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently until sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 3 minutes.

Pour the syrup slowly and evenly into the egg white mixture, whisking all the time. Whisk in the vanilla extract and Calvados. The mixture should be fairly thick. Allow to cool for a while.

Whisk the cream until thick but not stiff. Gently fold into egg white mixture with a metal spoon.

Pour into a dish and freeze for at least five hours.