Apple and pear puree with Amaretto

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 ½ kg apples, peeled and pitted weighed
• ½ kg pear(s), very ripe and aromatic, peeled and pitted
• 200 g sugar
• 500 ml apple juice, possibly less
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 vanilla pods
• 6 cloves
• 6 cardamom pods
• 2 star anise
• 6 cl Amaretto, or bitter almond flavor to taste
• e.g. lemon juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Peel and core the apples and pears. Add lemon juice to prevent the fruit from turning brown. Split the vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds. Caramelize the sugar in a large saucepan. When the mixture is runny and light brown, pour in the apple juice and simmer until the solid caramel has dissolved. The amount of apple juice depends on the type of apple. So don’t add the entire amount at first and watch it while it cooks to see if there is any more liquid, then add as needed. I had very mealy apples, so I needed all the juice. Now add the apples, pears, vanilla pods with their seeds, and the remaining spices and simmer until the fruit is soft. This will take 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the type of apple and the size of the pieces. Be sure to stop and stir frequently, as the mixture can burn easily. When the apples are soft, remove the spices. Purée everything with an immersion blender. Now add the Amaretto (if children are eating with you, you can use bitter almond flavoring instead, or omit it altogether), let it cool, and serve with potato pancakes. You can also simmer the puree at 95 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.