Courgette and Sultana Wine UPDATE

Here we go, seven bottles of Courgette and Sultana Wine. This will need to lay in the wine rack for at least 3 months before trying it.

Let's hope it tastes ok...

Classic Apple Pie

If you've got an apple tree and, like us, you have hundreds of apples laying around, you need to use them. Now you could make some chutney perhaps, in fact I have a delicious sweet apple chutney recipe I can share with you, or you could make a crumble or experiment a bit or press some juice or cider.

Why not do as I have done? I've just gone for a classic Apple Pie. You just can't go wrong.

Classic Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients: 
For the Pastry-
350g plain flour
Pinch of salt
170g butter
6 tbsp cold water
1 egg, beaten for glaze

For the filling-
750g apples, peeled, cored and sliced
150g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
Sprinkling of ground cinnamon or ginger

How to make it:
Sieve your flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
Add the water and bring together into a dough.
Wrap in cling film and stick in the fridge for half an hour

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C.

Prepare your apples one at a time and place in a bowl of cold water to stop then from discolouring.
Add the sugar and mix.
Roll out 2/3 of your pastry to line your dish, covering the bottom and sides.

Add your filing and sprinkle over about a tsp of the cinnamon or ginger, or both.

Roll out the remainder of the pastry for your lid.
Crimp round the edges and trim excess pastry. You can use this for decorations.
Beat one egg and glaze the top of your pie. Make a few slits in the top for steam to escape.
Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes, of until golden brown.
Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Enjoy!

Courgette and Sultana Wine

My brother bought me a book, Booze for Free, years ago and I came across this recipe whilst flicking through. We Still had a fair amount of courgettes to use up so why not hey? Let's try something different.

Courgette and Sultana Wine Recipe

Ingredients:
3kg fresh courgettes
1kg sugar
2 overripe bananas
500 g sultana
4 litres/7 pints water
1 tsp citric acid
a thumb sized piece of bruised ginger (that just means gentry squashed, but not broken. Use the side of the blade of a knife)
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 Campden tablet (optional)
Champagne yeast

Equipment:
Small saucepan
Fermentation bin
4.5 litre /1 gallon demijohn
Airlock and bung
Mincer (or sharp knife)
Siphoning tube

How to make it:
Chop the courgettes into 3cm pieces and put in the freezer overnight.
Allow to thaw (the courgette will be softened).
Bring 500ml/1 pint of water to the boil and stir in the sugar.
Mince the sultanas (or chop finely) and add these to the water too. Leave to one side.
Mash the bananas and mix it with all the other ingredients (except the yeast) in the fermentation bin.
Cover and allow to cool to hand-hot. If using a Campden tablet, add it now. Leave overnight.

Add the yeast and leave for four days loosely covered before straining the liquid into a demijohn and attaching an airlock and bung.
Rack* after a month and then again if needed. Allow to ferment out (the airlock will stop bubbling) then bottle.

This wine will benefit from at least three month's ageing.

*Rack(ing): siphoning the partially fermented wort into another vessel so it isn't fermenting on yeast sediment. Be careful to not disturb the layer of sediment at the bottom, stop siphoning before you reach it.

Original recipe from Andy Hamilton's,  'Booze for Free'