Pommes à la Portugaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23 cm (9-inch) shallow oval gratin dish
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Balloon whisk and heatproof spatula
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Y-shaped peeler and sharp paring knife
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the semolina base

   Butter a shallow 23 cm baking dish. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer, then rain in the semolina while whisking so every grain disperses before it swells. Stir over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is very thick and pulls cleanly from the pan. Mix in the sugar, butter, and salt. Temper the yolk with a spoonful of hot semolina, stir it back into the pan, and cook gently for 1 minute. Spread the preparation about 1 cm thick in the dish and smooth it with a damp spoon. Let it set while you make the filling.

2. 2

   Swell the dried fruit

   Rinse the currants and sultanas under warm water, then drain them well. Bring the measured water and sugar just to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, and let the syrup cool until lukewarm. Stir in the Curaçao, add the fruit, and leave it to swell for 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and reserve the syrup. Hot syrup would flatten the orange perfume; lukewarm syrup swells the fruit without bullying the liqueur.

3. 3

   Cook the frangipane

   Whisk the egg yolk, sugar, and flour until smooth. Bring the milk to a simmer, pour half over the yolk mixture while whisking, then return everything to the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring without pause, until the cream boils and becomes thick enough to hold the track of the spoon. Continue for 1 minute to cook the flour, then remove it from the heat and beat in the almond flour, butter, and finely grated orange zest. If the crème frangipane turns lumpy, take it off the heat and whisk hard, then pass it through a sieve while warm. Ça se rattrape. If it remains loose, return it to a gentle bubble for another 30 seconds. Cool for 10 minutes.

4. 4

   Finish the filling

   Fold the drained currants, sultanas, and all but the reserved tablespoon of macaroon crumbs into the warm crème frangipane. The filling must stand in a soft mound rather than flow. If it slumps, wait 5 minutes so the macaroons can drink in the remaining moisture, then add the reserved crumbs. This stiffness is not fussiness; it keeps the filling inside the apple cases during their brief return to the oven.

5. 5

   Fill the apple cases

   Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Drain the firm poached apple cases prepared as for Pommes à la Moscovite (No. 2598), then blot their interiors and bases carefully. Set them upright on the semolina preparation, spacing them evenly. Spoon in the crème frangipane generously and level it just above each rim without pressing hard enough to split the fruit.

6. 6

   Bake the assembly

   Bake for exactly 10 minutes, until the semolina base is hot, its exposed edge is faintly golden, and the filling has settled into the cases. The oven is finishing the composition, not cooking the apples again. Do not wait for deep browning; a prolonged bake makes the cases collapse and the fruit lose the firmness the dish requires.

7. 7

   Blanch zest and glaze

   While the apples bake, remove the remaining colored zest from the orange without the bitter white pith and cut it into the finest julienne, little matchstick rods. Cover the julienne with cold water, bring it to a boil for 1 minute, and drain; repeat twice with fresh water so the zest becomes tender and loses its harshness. Melt the red-currant jelly over low heat and stir in the drained zest. If the jelly tightens before the apples are ready, loosen it with a teaspoon of the reserved Curaçao syrup.

8. 8

   Coat and serve

   As soon as the dish leaves the oven, brush the apple cases and their filling with the fluid red-currant jelly, distributing the orange julienne across their tops. Let the glaze settle for 5 minutes, then serve warm, one apple per person with a generous spoonful of the semolina base. The apples should yield to the spoon while still holding their walls, with bitter orange, almond, and currant arriving in turn. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose even, medium apples that hold their shape when poached, such as firm Reinettes, Braeburn, or Pink Lady. A floury apple may taste fine but will split when hollowed or slump during the final bake.
• •The macaroons here are dry almond macaroons, close to crisp amaretti, not filled sandwich macarons. Their crumbs provide almond flavor and absorb the last loose syrup from the fruit.
• •Use dry orange Curaçao, never a brightly colored novelty bottle. The liqueur should reinforce the orange zest without turning the filling sugary or perfumed beyond recognition.
• •Red-currant jelly matters because it melts clear, sets to a bright tart glaze, and carries the fine julienne of zest. Seeded jam gives a muddy finish and changes the clean balance of the dish.
• •Serve the apples warm rather than fiercely hot. A small glass of Sauternes or another botrytized French sweet wine suits the orange, almond, and currant without fighting the jelly.

Advance Preparation

• •The referenced poached apple cases can be held in their syrup for up to 6 hours in the refrigerator. Drain them for 20 minutes and blot them thoroughly before filling.
• •The semolina base and crème frangipane can be made a day ahead. Cover the cream directly at its surface, chill both preparations promptly, and bring them back toward room temperature before assembly.
• •The currants and sultanas may swell in the Curaçao syrup for up to 4 hours, but drain them only shortly before folding them into the filling.
• •Do not fill the apples far in advance. The frangipane and fruit will slowly soften their walls, so assemble, bake, and glaze the dish close to serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)