Apples four ways

I really wanted to explore my creativity in the kitchen today, so I took something very simple like an apple, and used my culinary knowledge to make four separate dishes out of it. This little exercise helped me gauge my strengths as a chef. When you really think about it, the possibilities are endless with such an ordinary food, every aspect of taste comes into play; texture, smell, flavor and sight all must be taken into account.

The first cut I did on the top right was a paper-thin disk of green apple with fragrant naval orange zest and crunchy candied hazelnuts and walnuts. The one below it is a caramelized apple in brown sugar and butter. To the left of that is diced apples, topped with rice krispies cereal and Hawaiian pink salt. On top of that is a chiffonade of apple skin, with a small dollop of some left-over swiss chard and bacon puree I had from the other night.

Apples four ways

1 apple

½ Tbsp brown sugar

1 pat butter

2 Tbsp rice krispies

A pinch of pink salt

½ Tbsp orange zest

½ Tbsp candied hazelnuts and walnuts

½ Tbsp of swiss chard and bacon puree

Directions

1. Cut apple in half, peel one half of it and do a chiffonade of the skin, set aside.
2. Dice a fourth of the apple and put in a pan over medium heat with brown sugar and butter, let cook for 5-10 minutes.
3. Dice another fourth of the apple and set aside.
4. Using a mandolin, make 4 paper thin slices, use the best two.
5. To place, top thin apple slice with zest and nuts, place 4-5 cubes of caramelized apple on the plate below it. To the left of that, put down to diced apple pieces and top with rice krispies and salt, and above that arrange the skin strands in a mound of sorts and place a dollop of puree on top, enjoy!