Apple soup from the old country

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 apples, green, sour, e.g. Granny Smith, organic
• 2 apples, red, sweet, red, e.g. Jonagold, organic
• 1 organic lemon(s), juice and zest
• 1 liter organic apple juice
• 40 g cornstarch
• 150 g brown sugar
• 100 g raisins, possibly soaked in rum
• 100 g prunes, pitted, halved
• 1 cinnamon stick(s)
• 1 vanilla pod(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

fruity and aromatic apple soup from the “Altes Land”, southwest of Hamburg

Wash the apples and lemon thoroughly. First, grate the lemon zest and set it aside. Be careful not to grate too much of the white layer under the skin, as it is quite bitter. Quarter the apples and remove the cores. Do not peel the apples! Then cut about 5 mm thick slices from the quarters. Pour a little lemon juice over the apple slices and mix well to prevent them from turning brown. You have to decide on the raisins. If you don’t have children with you, you can soak the raisins in rum about 5 days in advance. This also gives it a very special flavor. In this version, however, the raisins are drained and added to the soup one minute before serving so they can warm up a bit and not overcook. Now, mix the cornstarch with the lemon juice until smooth, then fold in the zest. In a sufficiently large saucepan, whisk the cold apple juice and lemon starch until lump-free. Whether you use clear or cloudy apple juice is a matter of personal taste. Now stir in the sugar, then add the dried raisins, prunes, cinnamon, and vanilla pod, and bring everything to a boil. Stir occasionally. The vanilla pod stays whole and provides a subtle vanilla flavor. Later, fish the pod out of the soup, rinse it in water, and pat dry. It can be reused several times. Once the liquid has boiled, reduce the heat to low, add the apples, and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. After about a quarter of an hour, taste the apple slices. They should still have a slight bite and definitely not fall apart. The cooking time can vary depending on the type of apple. Just try it out. When the soup is ready, add the rum raisins before serving, if you’ve decided on this option. Let it warm up briefly and serve everything hot. If you absolutely need another garnish, classic “Griesklüten” (semolina dumplings) are a good choice. The “Altes Land” is a traditional fruit-growing region below the Elbe River west of Hamburg in Lower Saxony. Here in Schleswig-Holstein, this is the “Jau Siet,” the ‘other side’ (of the Elbe). This is where the dish originally comes from. I’ve modified it slightly. This is, so to speak, version 2.0 from Fiefhusen in Schleswig-Holstein.