Thank You, Martha

I've discovered a new, wonderful way to make the best applesauce ever. It's also the easiest way ever. You cut apples in half, plonk them into a baking dish with a little lemon juice, butter, and brown sugar and you roast them. Then you just put them through a chinoise or food mill. OK, if you don't have a chinoise or food mill - I guess you'd have to peel and core them first, so it wouldn't be as easy. But this recipe is worth buying a food mill for.

The roasting caramelizes the sugars in the apples and creates a lovely caramel at the bottom of the dish and imparts a complex fruity flavor. Here's the recipe. Try it!



Roasted Applesauce
(source: Martha Stewart Living)

Makes eight 1/2-cup servings.

1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of coarse salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 pounds small assorted apples, such as Gala, McIntosh, or Fuji (about 10)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine water, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2) Scatter butter pieces over mixture, and top with apples. Roast until apples are very soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
3) Working in batches, pass apple mixture through the medium disk of a food mill and into a bowl. Stir in spices. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Applesauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.