Nothing beats apples and pork as a fall combination. Those first crisp days of autumn and coming into a house filled with aromas of roasted pork and cinnamon tinged apples. Mmmm – it almost makes saying goodbye to summer worthwhile!

Anyway, here is a terrifically easy way to prepare a baked “applesauce” to accompany any kind of roasted pork dish. It also goes very well with pork chops, and if you’re in the mood for something a little different, it also goes very well on ice cream! It’s a technique for making a terribly easy applesauce that I discovered in an old edition of Bon Appétit magazine, and have been using ever since. Here is my version, based on that original.

So, the next time you’re in the farmer’s market looking at that bushel barrel of apples and wondering what you’d possibly do with all that bounty – Go for it! This recipe alone will run you through at least a half bushel by the time autumn’s through!

Baked Applesauce

• Apples
• Ground cinnamon and ground clove
• Lemon juice
• salt

Don’t worry about exact quantities here – you can’t go too far wrong!

1. Pre heat your oven to 350. If you are making this to accompany roasted pork, just cook at it at whatever temperature the pork is cooking at – it won’t matter at all!
2. Cut as many apples as needed in half (I like to use about an apple per person as an accompaniment to a roast pork dinner) and cut out the core. You don’t have to worry about keeping it pretty; you’re going to mash it up afterwards
3. Sprinkle each apple with a scant scant dusting of cinnamon and clove. The only way to ruin this recipe is to over cinnamon/clove here, so show great restraint and add only a tiny pinch to each to each apple. You can always add in more spice later on, but you can’t very well remove cinnamon that has been baked in.
4. Place these face down on a baking sheet and roast for about 25-40 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the apples reveals completely soft flesh.
5. Scoop out the apple flesh and mash it up. Add in a scant pinch of salt (you don’t want this to taste salty, juts not bland. And a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and lemon or cinnamon and clove as needed and serve alongside some lovely roasted pork.

A delicious seasonal meal!

Enjoy!