Give me a day of preparing for guests, and I rise with a spring in my step! First recipe on the list this morning: roasted apple sauce. I'll peel, core and quarter these apples and pears before tossing them with the zest and juice of a lemon and a couple of oranges, some dark brown sugar, a little butter and a teaspoon of cinnamon. A fragrant recipe gets a day of cooking off to the most delightful start!
ROASTED APPLE SAUCE
Zest and juice of 2 large oranges
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 pounds of red apples (Fuji, Jonathan or Jonagold work well)
3 pounds ripe Bosc pears
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar (I prefer dark), lightly packed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place the zests and juices in a stainless steel Dutch oven.
3. After peeling, quartering and coring the apples and pears, toss them into the zests and juices.
4. Add brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Stir well and cover.
5. Bake for 1-1/2 hours or until apples and pears are tender.
6. Mash using a potato masher until the apple sauce is smooth but still a little chunky. Depending on the ripeness of the fruit, the apples will likely fall apart and the pears will break up but stay chunky.
