Apples and leaves

Autumn's beauty always takes me surprise. I dread the loss of summer so keenly that my misery seems settled for the long haul of cold, till next June at least. Then, one crisp afternoon the air is smelling of burning wood, the outrageous golds and reds of trees are illuminated by the cloudless sky and I feel the tingling of a kind of enlightened joy; like in the outward thrust of summer something was missing, that now is returning - a welcome home-coming of the soul.

The red gold and green of new season apple skins like the fluttering butterfly leaves. Apples and leaves.

 

England goes pagan for the apple in October. Shrugging off the supermarket straight-jacket of pink ladies in plastic tubs all the way from New Zealand - Britons flock to quaint harvest festivals to quietly praise and wonder this humble fruit. Old ladies in cardies hold court at stalls taking slices from heritage apples with their paring knives as eager children greedily eat the juicy nuggets asking for more like they're coated in toffee. 

And they are the best apples I've ever tasted.

Speaking of folksy, wholesome things, I recently got my hands on a copy of  the excellent magazine Kinfolk - a guide for small gatherings. With the bag of apples River chose from the harvest festival, I knew I had to make something special, so I tried this recipe from the mag, substituting the original pear to apple and with a few tweaks here and there. The combination of herby rosemary with honey-sweetened apple and almond is lovely; a sophisticated treat. It's sugar and gluten free too.

Apple, honey and rosemary tart

For the pastry:

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 C honey
1 1/2 C ground almonds
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
pinch of salt

For the apple compote:

2 cups of peeled, quartered and sliced apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 bay leaf
2tbsp honey

Method

For the pastry:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 Degrees C
Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined - add a little extra almond meal if it feels too sloppy, you want a mix that is still moist but also able to be picked up and moulded.
Using your fingertips, press the dough into a buttered, loose-bottomed tart tin (mine was 20cm and I had some spare dough, you could also make small tartlettes).
Make sure the dough is as even as you can get it and about 2cm in thickness. Press holes into the surface with a fork.
Place the tin on a larger baking tray and put on the middle shelf of the oven.
Check after about 10 minutes - poke some more holes in the dough if it is bubbling up too much.
Cook a further 5 minutes or until the case is deeply golden.
Allow to cool - it is quite fragile, so be careful when releasing from the tin.

For the compote:

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to just below boiling and cook for 10 minutes until the compote has thickened and the apples are soft but still in shape.
Pour into a jar and cool to room temperature. If cooking ahead of time you can keep it in the fridge for a couple of days.

When ready to serve, scoop the compote into the pastry shell.
It's delicious with some plain Greek yoghurt.