recipes

upside down opal® apple tarte

Cuisine: Spanish
Servings: 4-6

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 200g fine flour
  • 100g soft butter
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ glass warm water

FOR THE CASTING

  • 100 g sugar
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

FOR THE COATING

  • ½kg opal® apples
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 20g butter
  • Mix flour, butter, oil, sugar and salt gently. Gradually add water. Form a ball and let it rest.
  • Take a fireproof pan and make the caramel as usual (with the hot water and sugar), giving it a light golden colour. Let it cool completely and, while it is still warm, tilt the pan so that the viscous mixture also covers the sides of the pan.
  • Peel the apples. Cut them into quarters and cut each quarter into thick slices. Place the slices on the bottom of the pan. When all apples are laid, sprinkle them with sugar and spread some hazelnut-sized pieces of butter on top. Now roll out the dough so that it has a round shape. Place it on top of the apples, and tuck it in well around the edges of the pan.
  • Bake the tart in the preheated oven for 45 min until golden brown. Remove the tarte from the oven and turn it out immediately onto the serving dish.

The hot tart matches wonderfully with vanilla ice cream.

opal® apple and red cabbage slaw

This bright and unique salad adds a splash of color to your winter table. It’s creamy, crunchy, and perfect for pairing with your spicy winter soups and chili.
Author: Rachel Hanawalt
Serves: 6

  • 1½ cup small-diced opal apples (or other sweet variety)
  • 4 cup shredded red cabbage
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup dried currants
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • Dice apples and shred cabbage and cheddar cheese. Place in a medium mixing bowl with the sunflower seeds and currants and set aside.
  • In a small dish, mix together mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and salt until smooth.
  • Fold the dressing into the salad ingredients in the medium mixing bowl. Season with black pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Vegan Option: Use vegan mayo and non-dairy cheddar to make this a vegan dish.

fruity chicken curry with fresh opal® apples

4 Serves

  • 1 tbsp oil to fry⁠
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cinnamon bark
  • 2 opal® apples
  • 2 tbsp curry powder
  • 4 chicken thighs or breasts
  • 400ml chicken stew
  • 400ml coconutmilk
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • salt and pepper
  • Peel and dice the apples. Chop onion. Wash and slice chicken.
  • Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, cinnamon bark and curry powder. After 2 minutes add apple cubes and fry for another 3 minutes.
  • Add chicken slices. After 3 minutes add chicken stew and coconut milk. Let it simmer, stir frequently for about 10 minutes until chicken is just cooked through but still tender.⁠
  • Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
  • Serve hot and with rice.

sweet opal® roses

An eye-catcher for every occasion. Pretty and delicious .
For ~6 pieces

  • 2 opal® apples
  • juice of ½ a lemon diluted with water
  • 100g almond paste / marzipan
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed⁠
  • 1 tablespoon flour, for dusting
  • powdered sugar, for icing
  • Core the apples. Cut into super-thin slices and keep in mind you want to have some yellow visible on the edge. Put the slices in lemonjuice-water-mixture and microwave them for 45 seconds to make the slices more flexible.⁠
  • Roll out your dough on the lightly floured surface. Cut into 5cm wide strips. Take walnut-sized pieces of marzipan and roll out very thin. Cut in stripes and place on dough. Arrange about 10 opal® slices lengthwise in a straight line on the strips, overlapping slightly.⁠
  • Fold up one strip of the dough and tightly roll to form a rose shape. Put in a muffin tin. Repeat for all the roses! Bake for 40 minutes, at 375°F/190°C or until golden brown. Ice with powdered sugar.⁠

hazelnut & cocoa nib tartlets with opal® apples

20 Serves

  • 20 sweet mini tart cases
  • 300g liquid chocolate
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 10 tsp cocoa nibs
  • 10 tsp crushed, toasted hazelnuts
  • 3 opal apples, cored and cut into wedges and brushed with lemon juice cocoa powder to dust
  • Fill each tart case with 1/2 tsp each of nibs and hazelnuts.
  • Heat the chocolate in a pan and stir in the salt and chilli.
  • Fill each tart case and top with a wedge of apple.
  • Sprinkle over some cocoa powder and serve immediately while hot.

Scale up or down according to amount needed.

butternut squash opal® apple soup

Seasonal, simple and healthy
Serves: 4-6

  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 opal® apples
  • 2-3 cups of chicken stock
  • salt, black pepper and cayenne
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • Heat the olive oil in a deep stockpot over low. Add chopped onion and cook until very tender about 5-10 min.⁠
  • While onions cook, peel, cut and core squash and apples. Add them and 1/2 of the stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook about 20 to 30 minutes until the squash and apples are very soft.⁠
  • Once the apples and squash in the pot are tender, puree the soup. Add the remaining chicken stock and stir. Season with salt, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne.

Serve hot, topped with croutons.

opal® apple pork chops

This delicious stuffed pork chop recipe comes together pretty quickly despite a longer list of ingredients.
Author: Carpé Season
Serves: 4

STUFFING:

  • 1 cup cooked wild rice*
  • ¾ cup pecans, chopped & toasted
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 ½ opal apples, cored and diced
  • ¾ cup (about 1 medium) onion, diced
  • salt and pepper
  • (*Start with ½ c. uncooked wild rice – this will yield about 1 ½ c. cooked.)

PORK CHOPS:

  • 4 thick boneless pork chops (around 1-inch thick)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • toothpicks (at least 12)

GLAZE:

  • ⅔ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup maple syrup
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • Prepare the Stuffing:
    Cook the wild rice according to package directions.To toast the pecans, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the pecans and toast for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until nuts are beginning to brown and fragrant. Remove to a plate to cool.In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apple and onion, and cook for about 4 minutes, until apples just begin to soften. Remove to a bowl and stir in the cooled pecans, cooked wild rice, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. (Wipe out your pan of any apple and onion bits with a paper towel; you can use it later. Fewer dishes for the win!)
  • Stuff and Sear the Pork Chops:
    Remove any excess fat from pork chops and pat them dry.Using a sharp knife, create a pocket. Some like to place their palm on top of the chop and insert the knife about 2 inches into the chop, parallel to the work surface. You then see the knife from the insertion towards either end of the chop, making sure to leave one long end of the pork chop intact. You want it to open like a book when you’re done. (If you don’t get a cut exactly in the middle, or you accidentally pierce the top or bottom, don’t worry. You can still make it work, using toothpicks!)
    —
    Spoon just under a ½ c. of stuffing* into each pocket (more or less depending on chop size) and close securely with toothpicks by threading each toothpick – up, down, up (like you’re pinning something to sew).[Reserve remaining stuffing to top the pork chops with when serving.]Sprinkle both sides of the closed pork chops with salt and pepper.Heat the butter in the same large pan as before over medium-high heat. Once butter is hot, add seasoned pork chops and sear until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. (Don’t crowd the pork chops; do this in stages or in two separate pans if need be).(*Because you will use the remaining stuffing to top the pork chops later, be careful not to have anything (hand/utensil) that has touched the raw pork get into the stuffing.)
  • Bake the Pork Chops:
    Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a llarge baking dish (large enough so that chops can be in a single layer; I used a 13×9″ pan) with cooking spray. Place seared pork chops in the bottom of the dish; cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Prepare Glaze:
    While the pork chops bake, heat balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, and thyme in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer rapidly (uncovered) for about 15 minutes, stirring VERY frequently, until glaze has reduced by about half and has thickened. Be careful not to let it boil again (as it simmers), especially not letting it boil over because it will make a huge mess! Remove from burner and set aside.
  • Glaze the Pork Chops:
    After the pork chops have baked for the 30 minutes, remove from oven and discard foil cover. Carefully drain any liquid from the bottom of the baking dish. Then spoon about ½ of the glaze over the chops (using a spoon to spread over each chop). The glaze should drizzle to the bottom of the pan; give the pan a good shake to distribute it over the bottom of the pan and return to the oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Flip the pork chops over; spoon an additional (app.) ¼ c. glaze over the top of the pork chops, shaking again to distribute glaze over the bottom evenly) and bake for 5 additional minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don’t begin to burn.Remove toothpicks. Serve pork chops with (reheated) remaining stuffing served on top of each pork chop. We like to eat these with mashed potatoes and a vegetable side.