Photograph: Laura Edwards / The Guardian/Photographer - Laura Edwards /The Guardian. Food Styling - Joss Herd. Prop Styling - Tabitha Hawkins View image in fullscreen Photograph: Laura Edwards / The Guardian/Photographer - Laura Edwards /The Guardian. Food Styling - Joss Herd. Prop Styling - Tabitha Hawkins Autumn food and drink From breakfast pancakes to dinner sides and pudding: Alissa Timoshkina’s apple recipes Fried in pancakes, braised with duck, pickled with a roast chicken or baked for pudding, apples are one of autumn’s star ingredients
Prefer the Guardian on Google F ew ingredients are as familiar as apples, yet few carry such symbolic weight. Peaking just as the season’s begin to turn, they are the ultimate symbol of nature’s abundance, imbued with a sense of nostalgia for the retreating sunlight. The symbolism became unexpectedly tangible to me during a recent autumn apple-picking trip with my family: surrounded by branches heavy with fruit, I found myself seeing the humble apple with fresh awe. It looked nothing short of nature’s miracle. Native to the mountains of central Asia, near the modern Kazakhstan-China border, it has travelled further than perhaps any other fruit, becoming at home in cuisines from Normandy to New York, Caucasus to Kashmir. Sweet or savoury, everyday or celebratory, the apple is truly universal. Its versatility always reminds me of the simple joy of cooking with the seasons.
Prep 10 min Cook 25 min Makes 24, to serve 6
200g plain flour, sifted 1 shy tsp baking powder ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda A pinch of cinnamon A pinch of fine sea salt 1 medium egg (50g) 200ml whole milk 50g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for frying 3 sweet apples, cored, then 1 grated and 2 thinly sliced on a mandoline 2 tbsp runny honey , plus extra for serving Neutral oil, for frying Greek yoghurt , for serving
In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, then in a separate bowl whisk the wet ones, including the grated apple.
Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together with a silicone spatula – make sure you don’t over mix it. Leave to rest at room temperature for five minutes, or until you see bubbles appear.
Heat a frying pan on a low-medium heat, and add enough oil to coat it evenly. Scoop up the batter (about 15-20g per oladky) and drop it into the pan – it should start sizzling straight away. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to cook around four oladky at the same time.
Fry them on one side for 40 seconds, adding a few slices of apple on top halfway through cooking.
Flip them over, adding a teaspoon of butter to help the apples soften and caramelise, and continue cooking undisturbed for 90 seconds to two minutes, until the pancakes have puffed up and the apples are caramelised.
Repeat with the remaining batter and apple slices. Serve with Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Photography: Laura Edwards/The Guardian. Food styling: Joss Herd. Prop styling: Tabitha Hawkins. Prep 20 min Rest 30 min Cook 15 min Serves 4
For the salad 150-200g kale, washed and stalks removed 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil Flaky sea salt and black pepper Juice of ¼ lemon 1 granny smith apple, thinly sliced on a mandolin 2 celery sticks, sliced diagonally into long wedges 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced on a mandoline 25g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, plus extra to garnish 1 roast chicken breast (about 200g), or equivalent chicken meat leftover from a…