Recipe - caramelised honeyed apples (perfect for pork)

One of those lovely traditions for those who enjoy pork is pork chops and apple sauce, or roast pork and apple sauce. This recipe is not about the pork,  its about apples.  Most commercial apple sauce is highly processed and packed with either sugar or aspartame - neither of which I want to eat.  

Now home-made apple sauce is great. If you have the time, the inclination and don't mind a hearty quantity of brown sugar, then there's a great traditional recipe here. But there has got to be an easier way!  

So welcome to my honeyed caramelised apples. This is the world's easiest recipe, but I have no idea how I ate pork any other way now.

Core and slice 1 or 2 apples into fine slices (leave the skin on, its tasty and good for you!) I use whatever apples we happen to have at home- usually pink lady or royal gala apples, but you can use anything at all, red or green. In fact the method would work just as well with a crispy pear. Aiming for about half an apple per person will be plenty - I use two apples for my family of three.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil and drop in the apple slices.  They will soften, turn golden and caramelise relatively quickly but they can burn easily due to the natural sugars in the fruit so watch them. Better to keep it lower and take a little longer if needed. As they are cooking add a squeeze of orange or lemon juice for tang and a sprinkle of cinnamon (or nutmeg or ground cloves if you feel like some variety and a little more spice).  Finally, turn the heat right down (or off) and stir through a spoonful of raw honey just before serving.

Spoon on top of your pork (I think it would be nice with grilled chicken too or even as a dessert spooned over yoghurt or with some mascarpone cheese? ). These are sweet, but with the combination of fruit, raw honey and the squeeze of lemon juice, are nothing like the sweetness of sugar laden processed foods.  Trust me, you will never want to eat apple sauce out a jar again :)

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy