Roasted Apple Sauce With Red Onion, Garlic and Chili Flakes

Yesterday I wanted to make something different.  Everything I touched in the kitchen seemed to go the wrong way round.  Pear shaped, bottoms up, inside out…it was one of those days.  It started with me trying my hand at stovetop smoking only to find that it is a whole lot easier if you have a stovetop smoker.  More about that later.  I’ll cut my long cooking story short and just say that I roasted a fresh ham yesterday (yes, it was GOING to be smoked…ugh!).  I wanted something not too sweet to go along with it so I came up with this Roasted Apple Sauce.  It was just what I was looking for.  A hint of sweet and a hint of heat.  The texture was on the chunky side.  It went perfectly with the roasted pork and made a lovely spread for a cold pork sandwich today.

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

3 granny smith apples, medium dice

3 royal gala apples, medium dice

½ medium red onion, minced

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

3 large bay leaves

1/8-teaspoon chili flakes

¼ cup Marsala wine

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Put all the ingredients in a small ovenproof pot fitted with a lid and stir to combine (I used my Le Creuset 2 ¾ qt French oven, it was perfect and easy to clean) Roast covered for 35 minutes.  Check to make sure the apples are not sticking, stir and return to oven.  Continue roasting covered and checking for another 30-40 minutes.  When apples have cooked down, mash them with the back of a fork keeping the texture course and thick.  Let sauce cool with lid on.  Remove bay leaves before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Try to make the apple sauce a day ahead to let all the flavors meld together.