Not only does it combine amazing flavors that will jump start your taste buds, you can prepare everything ahead of time, and then shove the dish in the oven, just before you sit down to have your main course. The time they take to cook is perfect for you to entertain your guests and enjoy the meal. No diving into the kitchen to give your dessert 'the last touch' while missing out on table gossip and fun.
What you need
•baking dish
•pestle and mortar (1)
Ingredients (serves 4)
•4 large baking apples (such as Jonagold, Brambley)
•4 tsp coconut cream + a bit more for greasing your pan
•1/2 tsp of grounded cloves (1)
•1/2 tsp of grounded bay leave (1)
•3 tbs almond slivers
•1/2 tsp of grounded cinnamon (1)
•2 tbs agave nectar
•2,7 ounces (75g) of raisins, minced
•juice of 1 orange
•juice of 1 lime
•1 cup of port wine
Putting it together
•Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
•ground the bay leaves and cloves
•mix the cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, coconut cream and agave nectar to a paste together with the minced raisins
•mix the the orange juice, lemon juice and port wine
•add 2 tbs of almond slivers
•let the flavors do their work for a minimum of 30 min.
•wash your apples with warm water and dry them
•use a knife to remove the core of the apples (2), making sure the top opening is wide (creating a sort of funnel)
•take a sharp kitchen knife and make a careful incision in the skin of the apple, all around the middle (this will prevent them from exploding in the oven). Look at the detailed picture.
•grease your baking pan with some coconut cream and place the apples inside of it
•stuff the coconut/raisin mixture into the hole of the apples and afterwards, gently pour the liquid port mixture, a little at the time, into each apple. A lot of the fluid will just sit in the pan. That is fine.
•place the apples in the preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes (check with a toothpick; it they are soft, they are ready)
•put the apples in a bowl and pour the juice from the pan over them
(1) Grinding a dry bay leaf or a clover can be a bit of a hassle and is time consuming. So yes, if you do not own a pestle and mortar, you are pressed for time and you are in a country where you can find a mix called 'spice', you can replace all the above dry ingredients by 1 1/2 tsp of spice.
(2) I don't like using an apple corer to remove the inside of the apples because it is difficult not to damage the bottom of the apple. If you get a hole on the rear end of the apple, your mixture will leak once in the oven. You want the mixture to stay inside the apple for the best result.
A grapefruit knife (knife with a bent tip) will make the job easy, but a regular small kitchen knife will probably do as well.
