I haven't made this for a while. I used to make weekly vats when L. was little, originally because it is excellent and healthy baby fodder (no sugar, lots of fiber) and later simply because he liked it and it was a snack that I could happily sign off on. With 6 large apples sitting in the fruit basket, it seemed like a no-brainer to make it again. Hopefully L. will happily down it during one of his many fridge forays for grazing purposes and, if not, I think it might make a nice base for a caramel apple pie. The only downside to that? Having to buy more apples for the surface layer of the pie...
I leave the skins on the apples when I make this because I like the pink hue that they give the apple sauce. This is possible because I use a ricer which makes this a really easy recipe and offers another use for the utensil you probably only use for mashed potatoes...If you don't own a ricer then I suggest peeling and coring the apples and mashing them with a potato masher instead.
Makes about 4 cups of apple sauce.
6 organic apples, washed well and quartered
1/3 cup of water
1/2 Meyer lemon (optional but adds nice floral back notes to the sauce)
1/4 tsp vanilla (but only if you are not using lemon. It is one or the other!)
Sugar to taste at the end, if needed
Pinch of salt
Add the apple quarters to a saucepan. Again, if using a ricer you can add them as is -- peel, core, pips and all -- otherwise peel and core before quartering.
Tuck the lemon (if using) between the apple pieces and pour over the water. Add a pinch of salt.
Turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook, checking liquid levels from time to time, until very tender. The apples should release liquid but, if the pan is getting dry, add water to the pan, just a couple of tablespoons at a time. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of apples that you use but it should take about 10-12 minutes for peeled apple quarters and an additional 5 minutes for the unpeeled kind.
When the apples are tender, remove the lemon from the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until you can handle the apples without burning yourself.
Either mash the peeled apples into a sauce or run the apple quarters through your ricer, leaving cores, peel and pips behind as you do.
If you have not used a lemon, now would be the time to stir in the vanilla.
Taste your apple sauce and add sweetener if you feel it necessary. A bit of maple syrup whipped into the apple sauce is delicious, as is some granulated sugar slowly melted in a pan with a dash of water to form a quick caramel.
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