Recipe: Eleanor's Applesauce

ELEANOR'S APPLESAUCE

"Eleanor Mailloux owns a restaurant deep in the West Virginia Appalachians where she serves the food of her forebears, the Swiss immigrants who settled the small town of Helvetia. This recipe chases after the flavors of her applesauce, whose recipe is a secret. I've always suspected that horseradish is what gives it its elusive flavor. But even without the horseradish, this sauce - flecked iwth tart bits of lemon flesh - is delicious and unique. I use light brown sugar, rather than white, because it brings out the flavor of the apples."

3 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 lemon (cut lengthwise as a wedge), sliced crosswise into paper-thin slices
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons water
2 to 3 teaspoons freshly grated or prepared horseradish, drained and liquid squeezed out, or more to taste (optional)

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the apples, brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon stick and water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the apples have broken down into a coarse mush and the lemon slices are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. If the sauce is still too lumpy, mash it coarsely with a fork or potato masher.

Stir in the horseradish. Serve warm or chilled.

The sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Source: A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider