Bircher oats with honeyed apples & roast apple purée

Method

For the bircher:

• Step 1

  Start by making your bircher oats. In a large bowl, mix the apple with a good squeeze of lemon, before stirring in the oats and milk. Cover and transfer to the fridge overnight.

• Step 2

  In the morning, give it a quick mix and add a little extra milk if it seems too thick. Top with one or both of the apple accompaniments.

• Step 3

  To make the honeyed apples, core the apples and cut each one into 12 equal wedges.

For the honeyed apples:

• Step 1

  Warm the butter in a large frying pan and add the apples. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes, turning often, until starting to soften.

• Step 2

  Add the honey and cook for a final 5 minutes, until they are sticky and caramelised.

• Step 3

  Serve warm straight from the pan or lay out on baking parchment to cool. Leftovers can be cooled and stored in the fridge for a few days.

For the apple purée:

• Step 1

  To make the apple purée, preheat your oven to 200˚C. Remove and discard the cores from all 4 apples. Keep them whole and place them in a roasting tray – although it doesn’t feel right, you don’t need any oil or butter. Roast for 30 minutes, until blistered and soft.

• Step 2

  Throw the apples into a food processor and whizz into a purée. Tip it into a fine sieve and use a spatula or the back of a ladle to encourage the purée through – this should remove any tough bits of skin.

• Step 3

  Add a very small pinch of salt and mix well. Add a little allspice if you want some warm spicing, and a little squeeze of lemon if you’d like it sharper.