Anna Rubingh - An Orchard Story

An Orchard Story

Photography + recipes: Anna Rubingh

When autumn arrives, the trees in the orchards are laden with fruit: different varieties of apples and pears, some for cooking, others to eat straight from the tree or to keep for a rainy day. Some fruit stores well in a cool place, while other varieties need to be preserved to capture that special taste of autumn. And if you’re lucky enough to have a walnut tree in your garden, you’ll have plenty of walnuts to enjoy throughout the rest of the year.

Make apple compote. It’s easy to prepare, and preserving it is much simpler than you might think. Use your homemade compote to bake a delicious cake that you can enjoy all year round, as long as your supply lasts. Or make a beautiful apple and custard pie, or add fresh apples to a crisp green salad with walnuts. This salad is also delicious in a cheese sandwich, especially with a spoonful of autumn chutney. Made with apples, pears and walnuts, the chutney develops even more flavour as it matures over the following weeks.

For something quick and effortless, try a simple apple cake. If you have pears in abundance, make a pear tarte tatin sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts gathered at the end of summer. Or combine roasted beetroot with pears, walnuts and blue cheese for a wonderfully earthy autumn salad. And last but not least, bake a delicious pear cake with almond flour, topped with flaked almonds. Enjoy the harvest!

Pear Tarte Tartin with hazelnuts