Mele al Forno con Amaretti e Vino

New Englanders and Italians both share a love of apples. You need look no farther than your local apple orchard, farm stand or fall festival to confirm the apple is one of New England’s favorite harvests. The apple pie contest entries at this years “Old Home Days” in Hollis were fragrant, beautiful and each touched personally by the love and care of the hands that prepared them, many from recipes handed down from generation to generation. Somehow the judges were able to determine a winner.
Just like in Hollis, festivals many festivals are also held each year in Italy to honor the harvest and the apple. Italy is the world’s sixth largest producer of apples, with apple recipes dating back to 700 BC. Even before that, Italian mythology refers to Ponoma as a wood nymph, who was left to tend the orchards near Tiber. All summer she cared for the tiny sour green apples, lovingly coaxing them to sweetness and then turning them the beautiful red and gold colors of autumn.
While New Englands apple history is not nearly as long it does date back to the pioneers who only found crab apples in the New World, but quickly imported seeds and seedlings from Europe, only to find they grew well but produced very small amounts of fruit. After the introduction of Europeans honey bees or “white mans flies” as the Native Americans called them, the orchards started to thrive.

Another piece of New England’s “Applelore” is the legend of Johnny Appleseed, a folk hero and pioneer apple farmer in the 1800s. There really was a Johnny Appleseed and his true name was John Chapmen and he was born right here in Leominster, MA. His dream was for the land to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry. Most historians today classify him as an eccentric but very smart businessman, who traveled about the new territories of his time, leasing land and developing nurseries of apple trees. It is estimated that he traveled 10,000 square miles of frontier country, spreading the love apples from coast to coast.

To honor Johnny and Ponoma, the recipe I would like to share combines fresh New England apples the wonderful taste of Italian wine and amaretti. It’s super simple and super tasty. Mangia!
Italian Baked Apple Ingredients

• 4 apples
• 14 amaretti cookies, crushed to a coarse crumb
• 4 amaretti cookies
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup rosa wine or 3/4 cup wine Plus 1/4 cup Ammareto
Italian Baked Apple Recipe
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and core the apples, leaving a 1/2 inch of core at the bottom of each apple.
• Cut a strip of peel from each apple, working around the center of the apple.
• Combine the butter and the amaretti crumbs and divide into 4 portions.
• Spoon the amaretti crumb butter mixture into each apple.
• Place the apples in an ovenproof skillet.
• Combine the sugar and the wine.
• Pour the wine over the apples.

• Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until the apples are tender.
• Transfer the apples to a serving platter.
• Top each apple with one of the remaining amaretti cookies.
• Place the skillet over medium heat, and cook the liquid remaining in the pan until slightly thickened.
• Pour the syrup over the apples.
• Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight and reheat before serving
For More Information About The Chef and Lucia’s Tavola

http://www.luciastavola.com/