Yesterday’s lunch conversation:
Wayne: So, if you had to pick just one thing to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Me: Is that like one really specific thing or a genre?
Wayne: Like what?
Me: Meat.
Wayne: What kind of meat?
Me: Yummy meat?
Wayne: You have to pick one thing.
Me: Ok, curry.
Wayne: What kind of curry?
Me: I can’t answer this question. What would you pick?
Wayne: Probably stew because it has vegetables and stuff in it.
Me: What kind of stew?
Wayne:: Beef. With bread.
Me: There’s no bread in stew.
Wayne: And a glass of milk.
Me: Ok, now you’re cheating.
Wayne: Well, you didn’t even answer the question.
Me: As any teacher will tell you, there is definitely a difference between cheating and not answering the question.
I couldn’t pick a fruit I’d want to eat exclusively either – I like too many! The first strawberries of spring, ripe peaches and berries in summer, and bodywarming mikans (aka satsumas, clementines, and tangerines) and pears in winter. Apples would probably be the strongest contender; Honeykrisp, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Fuji – I’ll snarf down pretty much any apple as long it’s not a mealy Macintosh from school lunches of yore.
This is dessert does a good job of accommodating people with food allergies/sensitivities – by default, it is low-sugar as well as egg, wheat and gluten free. You can leave out the sugar entirely or substitute honey for it. You could also also omit the butter and use apple sauce and a bit of vegetable oil instead as well for milk allergic folks.
The quantities in this recipe will fit neatly into 2 IKEA Smarta dishes. Double it for a 9×9 baking dish or triple it for a 13×9 baking dish.
Ingredients
- 2 medium hard apples
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
- water
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel and core apples. Cut into thin slices and place in a bowl. Grate ginger and add to apples, along with ginger, half the cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Lay in dishes – the arrangement is up to you. Go for the fancy spiral pattern or try the “leave ‘em where they fall” Jackson Pollock method. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of water. Place dishes on a baking sheet, place that baking sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until apples are crisp-tender.
- Toss oats, remaining half of cinnamon, salt, and sugar in a bowl until combined. Cut the butter into little pieces and mix in – the goal here is to create spice encrusted butter blobs. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples and bake again until a nice golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool slightly before serving. Keeps well in the fridge for a few days (I can honestly vouch for it keeping well for 2 days after baking. I imagine 3-4 days would also be okay but I can’t keep the researchers out of it long enough to test the data.)
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