Veal and pancetta-stuffed apples

Name: Veal and pancetta-stuffed apples
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: Knob of butter; 1 onion, finely chopped; 50g thinly sliced pancetta, chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; ½ cinnamon stick; 1 bay leaf; A few thyme sprigs; Good grating nutmeg; 8 sweet red British eating apples, such as gala (see tip); 100g British veal mince; 20g fresh breadcrumbs; Small handful chopped fresh parsley; Zest ¼ lemon; 4 tbsp brandy

Published: 30 Sep 14
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

These apples are stuffed with pancetta and veal; they make an amazing side dish to serve with a roast dinner.

Serves 6
Hands-on time 30 min, oven time 45 min

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Ingredients

Knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
50g thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
A few thyme sprigs
Good grating nutmeg
8 sweet red British eating apples, such as gala (see tip)
100g British veal mince
20g fresh breadcrumbs
Small handful chopped fresh parsley
Zest ¼ lemon
4 tbsp brandy

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Melt the butter in a small frying pan. Add the onion and fry for about 10 minutes with the pancetta, garlic, cinnamon, bay, thyme and nutmeg until completely soft. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool.
Core the apples to leave a 4-5cm hole (discard the core). Using a sharp, small knife, score a shallow line through the skin around the middle of each apple. Sit the fruit in a baking dish or roasting tin.
Remove the cinnamon stick from the cooled onions and discard. Mix the onions with the veal mince, breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest, adding a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stuff the veal mix tightly into the apples (about 60g each – see tip).
Drizzle with brandy, then bake for 45 minutes until the apples are tender and the veal is cooked, basting with the juices halfway through. Serve alongside a roast pork or chicken lunch.

Recipe from October 2014 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 202kcals
Fat: 5.4g fat (2.3g saturated)
Protein: 6.7g protein
Carbohydrates: 26.4g carbs (23.2g sugars)
Fibre: 6.1g fibre
Salt: 0.5g salt

delicious. tips

You can use any apples for this – even baking apples such as bramley, but you’ll have to scoop out quite a lot of the flesh to balance the flavour, as they’re quite sour. As bramleys are bigger, you’ll need fewer apples for the amount of stuffing too.
Bake the stuffed apples, then freeze for up to a month in a freezerproof container. Defrost, then heat for 25 minutes at 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6 or until heated through.

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