A simple but special dish, these stuffed apples, scented with sage, are best served in the fall when small Lady apples are available at the farmers’ market. These go very well with roasted potatoes, Lentils with Kale and Shallots (here), Pommes Vigneron (here), or any other hearty side dish.
[SERVES 4]
A dozen Lady apples or 4 Gala apples
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cotechino or other fresh, fatty, spicy Italian sausage, removed from its casing (check out dartagnan.com)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 to 10 fresh sage leaves, torn in half if large
½ to ¾ bottle white wine
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
If you’re using Lady apples, scoop the core and seeds and a little bit of apple flesh out of each one using a teaspoon, making cups out of the apples, each with a substantial space for plenty of filling. If you’re using regular apples, cut them in half crosswise and then scoop the core from the center of each and remove the stems, forming 8 cups.
Season the prepared apples with salt and pepper and evenly divide the sausage meat among them, filling each one with enough sausage to make a small mound of meat. Season the sausage with additional salt and pepper and nestle the stuffed apples in an ovenproof skillet or roasting dish that holds them snugly in an even layer.
Scatter the butter over and in between the apples, and tuck the sage leaves among them. Pour enough wine into the skillet (or dish) to almost cover the apples. Roast in the oven until the apples can easily be pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.
This is a simple roast chicken, and that is why it is good. It is almost even better served as a salad with haricots verts and potatoes in mustard vinaigrette (here).
[SERVES 4]
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence (here)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
One 3- to 4-pound chicken, patted dry with paper towels
Using a mortar and pestle, or in a coffee grinder, coarsely grind the fennel seeds, herbes de Provence, and salt. Evenly season the chicken with the mixture, inside and out, really massaging it into all of the crevices. Let the chicken sit for at least an hour at room temperature, or in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 425°F, place the chicken in a skillet or a roasting dish—anything, really—and set it in the oven. Roast until the thigh registers 165°F on a meat thermometer, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and eating it. No need to truss, baste, anything. Just season and cook. End of story.