Love at first bite

Don't duck away from cooking with acidic apples. They're irresistible baked, and make a tangy sauce for the Sunday roast, says Nigel Slater.

The more acidic an apple, the more likely it is that its flesh will turn into a cloud-like froth as it cooks. Hence the popularity of the Bramley, or the more richly flavoured but rarer Peasgood Nonsuch, for baking: they will puff up like a ball gown, with beads of honeyed froth peeping at the brim. Once the leaves start to turn I get a fancy for a baked apple, or something made from it, like a tart apple sauce for a rich roast of pork, or a dish of apple snow with a slick of blackberry sauce stirred in.

I made a knife-sharp sauce for the Sunday roast last week with a few blackberries from the garden hedge thrown in. Despite it looking like two courses served at the same time, I think the result was rather good and no one thought it odd. Blackberries and apples have gone together since God was a boy, but rarely in the savoury sense.

Good apples for a palate-cleansing sauce, nicely shafting the richness of the meat, are not hard to find if you have a mind to. Grenadier isn't bad, but Bess Pool, Howgate Wonder, Norfolk Beauty, Lord Derby and Dumelow's Seedling turn up at apple fairs and farmers' markets. Though good luck finding the rarer ones outside the odd country market.

Whether they're picked to be eaten now or for storing throughout the winter (Dumelow, Howgate and Norfolk store well), they all have a certain acidity level. This is what I want in an apple which I am going to partner with any part of the pig. Black pudding and sliced apple, both fried till their edges are etched with gold and about to fall apart; fat bangers slowly baked till their skins shine; a casserole of diced fatty pork and thyme leaves - all need an apple with a bit of bite to it.

There have been British-grown blackberries around all summer. These plump berries were grown here by specialists, and to be honest, they aren't bad. The glossy berries have been a feature of my weekday breakfasts this summer, but like all supermarket fruit they are bred primarily for sweetness, so you fail to get the characteristic warm/sour notes of a true hedgerow blackberry.

Today there are clouds of berries hanging over my garden fence. When they are not consumed raw, a little sugar and low heat turn them into a pleasingly purple slop for stirring into apple purée to take the queasy edge off roast pork belly (rub the flesh with salt, pepper and crushed juniper before you roast). And I might tell you that it is gorgeous with duck, too.

Roast duck legs with squash and blackberry and apple sauce

I tend to eat duck legs far more often than a whole bird. They have a neatness to them, and seem better value. You need just one a piece. Recipes for pot-roasting them are rare, but cooked that way the results can be tender in the extreme and a pleasant change from the usual crisp-skinned roast bird or grilled breasts. Soft, moist flesh is the goal here, with the squash soaking up some of the herb-seasoned fat. Serves 4.

4 plump duck legs
about 8 small sprigs of thyme
sea salt and whole black peppercorns
a small squash or pumpkin
2 bay leaves

Pull the thyme leaves from their branches (you could leave some stems whole) and pound them with ½ tsp of sea salt and the same of black peppercorns. I use a pestle and mortar, but a wooden rolling pin in a bowl works, too. Season the duck legs generously.

Put the legs in a deep casserole with a heavy base. Place the casserole over a moderate heat and quickly brown the duck pieces on both sides. The skin should colour to a pale amber; the fat should melt to form a shallow film in the pan.

Halve, peel and de-seed the squash, pulling away and discarding any coarse fibres from the centre. Cut the flesh into thick chunks. Tuck the squash alongside the duck legs with the bay leaves, turning them in the seasoned fat as you go. Cover with a lid then turn the heat to low and leave for 45- 50 minutes, until you can pull the flesh easily from the bones with a fork. You shouldn't expect the skin to be crisp, but soft, fragrant with thyme and meltingly tender, and the squash at the point of collapse.

Transfer the duck legs and squash to warm plates and serve with the blackberry and apple sauce that follows.

A blackberry and apple sauce for pork or duck

Apple sauce is something I make in any number of ways: with 'cooking' or 'eating' apples either in a shallow pan with a little water, or by baking the apples whole. The last method seems to give a deeper, more concentrated flavour. The quantity of sugar you add is dependent on the sweetness of the apple variety.

4 large Bramley-type apples
150g blackberries
a little icing sugar

Score the skin of the apples round the middle (so they don't explode) and put them in a baking dish. Bake at 180C/gas mark 4 (or whatever temperature your roast is on) for a good 40 minutes till they have puffed up and the apple is soft and frothy.

Put the blackberries into a small pan, add 1 tbsp of stock or water and bring to the boil. Crush lightly with a fork.

Scrape the flesh from the apples' skins into a bowl. Using a small whisk or fork, beat in the sugar. Stir the crushed blackberries through the apple and serve with the duck above or with a roast shoulder or loin of pork.

Roast apples with apple custard ice cream

Serves 4 (with some extra ice cream)

for the ice cream:

1kg sharp apples
200g golden caster sugar
400ml cream
4 egg yolks
for the baked apples:
4 large dessert apples
a little butter

To make the ice cream, peel the apples, core them and cut them into thick slices. Put them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with half the sugar and let them stew slowly over a moderate to low heat. (They need no water, but keep an eye on them so they don't burn.) Once a little juice has formed in the bottom of the pan, cover with a lid and leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes or so, stirring from time to time, till the apples are fluffy. Mash with a fork and leave to cool.

To make the custard, bring the cream to the boil. Beat the eggs and remaining sugar till thick, then pour in the hot cream and stir. Rinse the saucepan and return the custard to it, stirring the mixture over a low heat till it starts to thicken slightly. It won't go really thick.

Cool the custard quickly - I do this by plunging the pan into a shallow sink of cold water - stirring constantly. Chill thoroughly, then mix with the cold mashed apple.

Pour into your ice-cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. It will seem quite a thick mixture, but don't worry - it will be fine. Scoop into a freezer box and freeze till you are ready.

To make the apples, set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Remove the apples' cores with an apple corer. Score the fruit round their tummies with a sharp knife. Put the butter in a small roasting tin or baking dish in which the apples will fit snugly. Drop a knob of butter into each hollow then roast for 40-50 minutes, till they are puffed up and golden. Serve with the ice cream.