Another new year, another set of New Year’s resolutions. This year, instead of sacrificing your sweet tooth, try offering yourself a creative and healthful way to satisfy your cravings – by roasting fruit.
Whether pineapple, apples or strawberries among others, fruit, when roasted, takes on a complex flavor profile guaranteed to charm your taste buds. And it’s not just for desserts or snacks either.
To roast fruit with excellent results, Chef Laura Slama, executive chef and owner of Celebrated Cuisine, prefers lower heat and longer cooking times to allow the natural sugars to caramelize and really deepen the overall flavor of the fruit. Take pineapple – peel and slice the pineapple into half-inch thick rounds. Place on a sheet tray lined with a parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet, like a Silpat TM . Chef Laura says to place the pineapple, au natural, into a 300 degree oven and let it roast at least an hour, turning once during the process, until tender. Then cool slightly, and dice it up for a salsa to serve with grilled fish, or give it a touch of crème fraiche for a quick and elegant dessert, no additional sugar required. Feel free to experiment with your favorite spices depending on how you plan to use the roasted fruit – chipotle powder adds a little heat to the pineapple for that wonderful salsa, as do cumin, garam masala or just a touch of sea salt.
Chef Laura loves strawberries roasted – and when you puree them, you have an instant sauce for anything from frozen yogurt to angel food cake. And if you purchased that huge container of strawberries that you can’t possibly eat before they begin to soften or worse, don’t despair! Just because they may not be pretty enough to serve fresh, they are prime candidates for the oven. Hull the berries, slice them if half if they are large, then place them on a lined sheet tray and roast at 250 for at least an hour. Puree them in your blender or food processor and you have a wonderful strawberry sauce. You can even add a little sugar to sweeten them more, if needed, then freeze it for a quick and healthy sorbet.
Apples, when roasted and added to a baked dish, can really jumpstart any perennial dessert or savory sauce favorite. When you roast the apples first, then place them in the bottom of a baking dish and cover with a batter, your results will be intensely sweet and caramelized. Simple French desserts, such as tarte tatin and clafouti, can be updated by roasting the apples first. Or try adding the roasted apples to a chutney for your favorite grilled meats, like pork chops or chicken. Amazing how just a little heat can really enhance your dining experience without adding to your waistline!
