Stumbling around our neighborhood fruit stand (Jay’s for the record) yesterday in the rain I was nothing short of amazed at the bounty of apples and pears that are in season right now.
Like all really great fruit and vegetable stands this particular one has a genuine rustic aura about it. You get to paw through the palletized fruit shipping bins that a day or two ago were rolling through the orchard during loading and pick the best of the bin right there.
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I had a genuine hankering for a home baked apple pie, so I was after Pippin and Granny Smiths (.79 a pound), though the yard mistress sliced a Pink Lady for another customer and myself….half a dozen of those ended up leaving with me as well.
A few of the Granny Smiths indeed made it into a rustic styled, crumbled top, dried cranberry spiked apple pie, a picture of which I sent to chef friend Libby still serving time in Austin.
She almost immediately emailed back this recipe for a Spiced Apple Soup she picked up during one of her stints in Santa Fe or Taos.
She claimed (with surprising enthusiasm) it was one of her favorites, extolling the powerful magic that a light, homemade chicken stock weaves with fruit, particularly apple, and the way the southwestern-themed spices compliment the sharp acidity of the apple.
I’ll be damned if she wasn’t right; this is a very interesting one to try during the fall apple season, though we’ll be serving it cold next summer too (one of Libby’s favorite catering surprises it appears…).
6 Pippin or Granny Smith apples, large; cored, peeled, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 generous pinch nutmeg
1 generous pinch ground cinnamon
1 generous pinch ground cloves
2 and 1/2 cups chicken stock, homemade best
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. paprika
Cook. Combine the apples, sugar, the two tsp. of paprika, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and stock in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes until the apples are soft.
Puree. Puree until smooth in your trusty food processor; return to the pan over low heat.
Serve and garnish. Ladle into 4 to 6 bowls and garnish with a hefty dollop of sour cream and a sprinkled pinch of paprika.
Enjoy.
