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Warm up to fall with 3 apple cider recipes
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I once knew a realtor who simmered a pot of apple cider with a cinnamon stick in it when she was selling a house. The idea was that it smelled like an apple pie baking in the oven. But, the bigger idea was that the house was no longer just a piece of real estate but had been transformed into a place that a potential buyer could imagine calling “home.” The apple cider scent evoked coziness, homemade meals and family. She told me the “apple cider trick” sold houses 50% faster than normal.
Apple cider is simply fresh pressed apples. Typically unfiltered, it can often contain small bits of apple pulp. Ideally, there is nothing else in your cider — just apples. Unlike apple juice, cider is unfiltered and often unpasteurized. This means cider is more perishable. Plan on using cider within a week of buying. Keep it cold in the refrigerator. You’ll know it’s gone bad when it smells vinegary and sour.
Apple cider adds a sweet, rich, autumnal flavor to many foods. You can heat it with a cinnamon stick, dried ginger, cardamom or any spice or orange peel, and have a perfect hot drink. (Add a splash of dark rum, bourbon or vodka!) But you can also use apple cider in sweet and savory dishes.
Here I’ve braised chicken in apple cider and apple cider vinegar with potatoes, carrots, leeks and onions. Cabbage wedges roasted until golden brown and tender then splashed with apple cider and apple slices make a great main (vegan, vegetarians, take note!) or side dish. And finally a fall fruit crumble. Apple and pear chunks are placed in a ramekin or Pyrex dish with apple cider and spices and topped with a granola-based topping. Then, if you like, boil down apple cider until it’s thick like a glaze and drizzle it into whipped cream for a fabulous apple cider whipped cream topping.
Chicken braised in apple cider with leeks, onions and potatoes
Pure comfort food. Chicken is browned in seasoned flour and then braised in a sweet mixture of apple cider, white wine, leeks, onions, shallots, garlic, potatoes and carrots. The cider creates a slightly sweet apple-flavored sauce, punctuated by a dash of sharp apple cider vinegar. A whole meal in one pot that can be made a full day ahead of time. Serve with crusty bread and a good fall salad.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs, about 4
- 1 pound chicken breast or wings
- About ½ cup flour, plus 1 ½ tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 leeks, dark green section removed, white and light green section cut in half lengthwise, washed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 scallions, ends trimmed and then cut into 2 inch pieces
- 6 pearl onions, peeled and left whole or 4 shallots, peeled and cut in half
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
- 6 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters or 16 new potatoes peeled and left whole, about 8 ounces
- 8 ounces carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces, about 3 to 4 carrots
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried and crumbled
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 ½ cup apple cider
- 1 cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Place the ½ cup flour on a large plate and season liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour on both sides.
- In a large casserole heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the chicken, about 3 to 4 minutes or each side. Set aside on a paper towel to drain off express oil. Repeat with all the chicken. Use a paper towel to clean the oil from the pot.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the butter to the casserole and place over low heat. Add the leeks, scallions, onions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and the carrots, the thyme and half the parsley and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the 1 ½ tablespoon of flour, stirring it into the mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the apple cider and wine and bring to a boil. Add the vinegar and reduce the heat to medium-low and add the chicken, tucking it into the sauce and the vegetables with the skin and top of the chicken exposed (and not covered by the sauce). Season with salt and pepper. Cover partially and cook for about 1 hour, or until the chicken and potatoes are tender. Taste for seasoning. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley just before serving.
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Roasted cabbage and apples with apple cider dressing
This vegan dish is deeply satisfying and comforting and takes very little effort. You can serve it as a main course, or as a side dish.
Serves 4 or 5.
Ingredients
- 1 small white cabbage, cored and cut into 6 wedges
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 scallions, very thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the cabbage wedges in a shallow casserole, ovenproof skillet or gratin dish. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and season liberally. Roast on the middle shelf for 10 minutes.
- Remove and gently flip the cabbage over. Add the apple slices and the apple cider and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cabbage and the apples are tender when tested with a small, sharp knife. Carefully remove the cabbage wedges and apples with a slotted spoon and arrange on a serving plate or bowl. Place the casserole or skillet over high heat on your stovetop and boil for 3 to 4 minutes to reduce juices. Add the vinegar and simmer for another minute. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and season to taste.
- Pour the hot dressing on top of the cabbage and apples and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve hot or at room temperature. If you make the dish ahead of time, cover and refrigerate, Remove from the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to bring to room temperature before serving.
Apple cider, pear and apple crumble with apple cider glaze whipped cream
I worked apple cider into this luscious fall dessert twice. I found that by cutting up apples and pears into chunks, not slices, the fruit stays moist and juicy. I add a good amount of cider to the fruit so it creates an apple-pear sauce. The topping, made with granola, flour and butter, is a crisp lid to the fruit keeping it even moister. And the topping, if you choose, adds more apple cider flavor. I take 2 cups of cider and let it boil down for about 20 minutes until it's a thick glaze. The glaze is then stirred into whipped cream, but it’s also delicious drizzled over pancakes, toast, grilled pork, or anywhere you might use an apple cider jelly. The glaze will keep covered and refrigerated for about a week.
Serves 2 to 4.
Ingredients
The fruit:
- 1 large or 2 small mostly ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 large tart apple or 2 small, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch size pieces
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ cup apple cider
- Dash ground cinnamon
- Dash ground ginger
- Dash fine salt
The crumble topping:
- 1 cup granola
- ¾ cup flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons light brown or white sugar
- Pinch fine salt
- 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
The apple cider glaze and whipped cream (optional)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup heavy cream
- About 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Make the crumble: preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix the pears, apple, maple syrup, apple cider and cinnamon, ginger and salt. Place in two 2 cup ramekins or a 4 cup medium ovenproof skillet or pyrex dish.
- Make the topping: in a bowl mix the granola, flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until it’s the size of peas. Press the topping onto the fruit crumble, pressing down to create a “lid.”
- Bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling through.
- To make the apple cider glaze: pour the cider into a heavy medium saucepan and place over thigh heat. Cook for about 15 minutes. As soon as the cider is thickening reduce the temperature to medium-low and cook for another 5 minutes. The glaze should be the consistency of maple syrup; it should drip heavily from a spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Place the cream in a large bowl and, using an electric whipper or a whisk, whip the cream until almost stiff. Add the sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the apple cider glaze. Serve the whipped cider cream on top of, or alongside, the warm crumble.
This segment aired on October 7, 2024.
