Category Archives: Condiments/Sauces

October 23, 2009 · 2:07 pm

Apple Butter (or Applesauce if you quit halfway through)

One more apple recipe (actually two, because you can make either applesauce or apple butter with this recipe.

There are two ways to make apple butter (many more than two actually, but two main ways): with a food mill or without a food mill. I highly recommend using a food mill. It saves tons of time on the initial prep work, and is easier on the finishing end as well.

What to do if you don’t own a food mill? Borrow one from a friend (Many thanks, Sherry!). Still don’t have a food mill? You can still make this recipe, just get out your apple peeler and start peeling (and have a food processor or blender handy).

If you are using a food mill you can skip the whole apple peeling and coring process. Just cut your apples into about 8 chunks/slices and place in a roasting pan. The peels and core are full of pectin and will help the apple butter set (but it will still set if you are using peeled apples). The recipe I like is adapted from the cookbook Cooking with Shelburne Farms.

Roast the cut apples with cinnamon sticks and pure maple syrup for a fabulous flavor. Grade B maple syrup is actually recommended in the cookbook because it has a stronger maple flavor, but I only had Grade A, so that is what I used.

When the apples are soft they are ready to go through the food mill (remove cinnamon sticks) or food processor. A food mill will automatically separate the good part of the apples from the skin/seeds/core.

STOP!

You have just made applesauce. Go ahead, taste it! You can stop now, or keep cooking to make apple butter.

Return the applesauce to the roasting pan (with more maple syrup and ground spices) and cook for 60 – 90 minutes, stirring often, until apple butter is thick and caramel colored. It is done when a spatula drawn through the mixture leaves a clean trail.

The apple butter can be processed in jars in a boiling bath canner, frozen in plastic containers, or stored in the refrigerator.

RECIPE:

Apple Butter or Applesauce

1 peck apples (about 10 lb)
1 cup apple cider
1 cup maple syrup, divided
4 whole cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cut apples into wedges and place in a large roasting pan (if you do not have a food mill, peel and core apples as well). Place cinnamon sticks on the apples and drizzle with the apple cider and ½ cup maple syrup (use more for really tart apples).

Roast 45 minutes, or until apples are very soft. Remove cinnamon sticks. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Use a food mill to puree the apples (it will remove the skins and seeds). If you do not have a food mill, place peeled, cooked apples in a food processor and blend until well mixed. Stir in additional ½ cup maple syrup, ground cinnamon, cloves and allspice, and any liquid left in the roasting pan.

Return apple mixture to roasting pan, spreading mixture evenly (to avoid burned places). Cook for 60 – 90 mins, stirring every 15 – 20 minutes. Apple butter is done when a spatula can be drawn through it and leave a clean path. Taste and add additional spices and syrup, if desired.

Alternately: place pureed mixture, maple syrup, and spices in a crockpot. Cook over high heat with the lid removed for 8-10 hours, or until mixture is thick enough to draw a spatula through.

Process in a boiling bath canner for 10 minutes (for half-pint jars), if desired.

Makes 6-8 half-pint jars (depending on how thick you like your apple butter)

FOR APPLE SAUCE:
Roast apples as above (with maple syrup and cinnamon sticks) and process through food mill. That’s it. You’re done. You can add additional ground cinnamon, if desired.

To can applesauce in quart jars: process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Makes about 4 quarts applesauce.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa

The weatherman is predicting snow for Western Pennsylvania sometime over the next few days, with nights dipping into the low-30’s. So it was time to finally bring in all of the green tomatoes on our vines. With a super wet, cool spring and summer, I wasn’t sure if we would get any tomatoes at all this year. Leaves started turning yellow then brown much earlier than usual, and I didn’t get nearly the volume of tomatoes as most years. And since they ripened later, we have an extra surplus of green tomatoes about to be killed by frost.

Unfortunately, my kitchen countertops are all on interior walls, and I have very shallow windowsills, so trying to ripen all of these green tomatoes indoors is going to be difficult.

So I decided to try making my Salsa Verde using the green tomatoes instead of tomatillos. I will admit that I prefer the taste of tomatillos to the green tomatoes, but this salsa still tastes great! It should also make some great enchiladas verdes.

Start by washing the tomatoes and removing the stems. I left the really small tomatoes whole, but cut the rest in half. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil. Brush tops of tomatoes with a small amount of olive oil as well.

Place onions, garlic and hot peppers on a second roasting pan. Brush with olive oil. NOTE: There are more onions and garlic on this pan than I actually used in the salsa. The rest I used in another dish.

Roast at 475°F (using a convection oven, if available) until tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers just begin to blacken, about 10-15 minutes.

Place tomatoes, 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic, and the hot peppers in a food processor. There is no need to peel tomatoes or peppers. (The onions should have been peeled before roasting)

Pour salsa into a bowl and add 1 cup packed cilantro, finely chopped (I did this in the food processor as well).

Stir in 1/3 cup fresh lime juice, 1 ½ tsp salt, and some fresh ground pepper. Add additional green tabasco sauce, if desired, for more heat.

RECIPE:

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa (or Salsa Verde)

3 lb green tomatoes (about 12 tomatoes) or tomatillos for real Salsa Verde
2 onions, red or yellow, peeled and cut in half
3 hot peppers, seeded and cut in half
4 cloves garlic, peeled (or roast whole garlic head and then just use 4 cloves)
1 cup packed cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 ½ tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Green tabasco sauce, for additional heat, to taste

Preheat convection oven (if available) to 475°F.

Wash the tomatoes and remove any stems. Cut tomatoes in half (I left the really small ones whole). Place tomatoes, cut side down, on a baking sheet brushed with olive oil. Brush tops of tomatoes with a small amount of olive oil as well.

Place onions, garlic, and hot peppers on a second roasting pan. Brush with olive oil.

Roast at 475°F (using a convection oven, if available) until tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers just begin to blacken, about 10-15 minutes. If you are not using a convection oven, switch oven to Broil for the last 5 minutes, or until slightly blackened.

Place tomatoes, 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic, and the hot peppers in a food processor. I did this in 2 batches: tomatoes in the first batch; onions, garlic, and peppers in the second batch. Pulse until coarsely chopped.

NOTE: I like a thicker salsa so I do not use the liquid from the bottom of the roasting pan, but you can if you like a thinner salsa. Also, there is no need to peel tomatoes or peppers.

Pour salsa into a bowl and add chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Taste. Add green tabasco, as desired, for additional heat.

This salsa can be easily frozen in plastic containers or plastic baggies. Because it does not have a high acid content, however, it should not be canned in a boiling bath canner.

NoEmptyChairs.me

11 Comments

Filed under Appetizers, Canning/Freezing, Condiments/Sauces

Tagged as green tomatoes, salsa, salsa verde

October 10, 2009 · 9:43 pm

Basil Pesto

Last month I got a half-bushel of basil from a local farmer’s market. It was fresh picked about an hour before I got there. It smelled divine in the car on the ride home! So what do you do with a half bushel of basil? Make pesto, of course. I love to grow basil at home, but I don’t have a large enough crop to make large quantities of pesto. So I watch this farmer’s market at the end of summer when they cut their large crop of basil and sell it cheap!

Actually, I only made full-blown pesto with about half of the basil. The other half I put into the food processor with olive oil (in the proportion of 1 cup packed basil to ¼ cup olive oil). This basil/olive oil mixture I spooned into ice cube trays and froze. Once frozen, I put the basil ice cubes into a Ziploc bag, then back into the freezer. I use them to season all kinds of dishes throughout the next 3 seasons, until I have basil growing again in my garden. The proportion above is also the same proportion of basil to olive oil in the pesto, so if you just want to freeze the basil/olive oil, then you can add the remaining ingredients later to make fresh pesto.

But I love being able to pull pesto out of the freezer and not worry about whether I have pine nuts ready to be toasted. To make fresh basil pesto, combine 4 cups of packed basil leaves (don’t use the thick, stiff stems; smaller stems may be used), 4 cloves of garlic and ¾ cup toasted pine nuts in a food processor. Blend well. Add 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan, processing just until blended. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream while food processor is running.

Pour pesto into jars, freezer containers or small Ziploc bags. If you are using jars or plastic freezer containers (like below), drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top of each container. This will help keep the basil from darkening or becoming freezer-burnt. This container is obviously not full, it is one that I currently have open in my fridge. Pesto makes a great addition to so many things: pasta, pizza, sandwiches, fresh tomato salads, bruschetta.

When thawing pesto from the freezer, DO NOT MICROWAVE! It will melt the Parmesan and leave you with a gloopy mess (trust me on this one). Still tastes good, but looks pretty funky. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop for several hours.

RECIPE:

Basil Pesto

¾ cup pine nuts
4 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed
4 cloves garlic
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toast pine nuts until lightly browned, checking and stirring every 4-5 minutes. Cool.

Using a food processor, blend basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Add Parmesan, processing just until blended. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream while food processor is running.

Makes about 2 cups

Notes:

Substitute toasted walnuts for the pine nuts.
Low on basil? Substitute fresh spinach for 1-2 cups of the basil
To Freeze: Pour pesto into jars, freezer containers or small Ziploc bags, leaving about ¼” headspace. If using jars or plastic containers, drizzle small amount of additional olive oil over the top of the pesto. Freeze.
Alternate Preparation: Blend basil and olive oil in proportions above. Spoon into ice cube trays or small Ziploc baggies. Freeze. Use to prepare fresh pesto later, or to add to recipes calling for fresh basil.

NoEmptyChairs.me

3 Comments

Filed under Canning/Freezing, Condiments/Sauces

Tagged as basil, freezing, fresh herbs, pesto