Baked Apples with Shallots and Herbs

from Jewish Cooking for All Seasons by Laura Frankel
Yield: 6 servings

6 medium shallots, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
3 tablespoons best-quality honey
3/4 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
6 large firm apples, cored, preferably Pink Lady or Rome Beauty

Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat and lightly coat bottom of pan
with olive oil. Sauté shallots, stirring occasionally, until golden
brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Stir in garlic, parsley,
thyme, and rosemary and continue to cook until garlic is tender, about
5 minutes.

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Pulse cherries and figs in a food processor 10 to 12 times, until
   fruits are chopped and clumping together. You don’t want them to form a
   smooth paste. Transfer fruit to a bowl and stir in shallot mixture,
   pomegranate molasses, honey and 1/4 cup of the wine.
3. Stuff mixture into cored apples. You should have enough stuffing to
   generously stuff apples and have some stuffing “pop” out of top of
   apples (I love this part, as it gets crispy on top).
4. Place apples in a baking dish and pour remaining 1/2 cup wine around
   apples. Bake apples until they are soft and fairly wrinkly, 30 to 45
   minutes. Occasionally, spoon some of the wine and juices onto the
   apples so they do not dry out.
5. Serve apples warm or at room temperature with some of the cooking juices spooned around them.

Notes: Apples can be baked 4 hours ahead and kept loosely covered at
room temperature. Pomegranate molasses (also called “paste”) can be
found in Middle Eastern markets or at www.sadaf.com.