An easy way to give apples more depth of flavor

With the holidays complicating life at every turn, a simple recipe seems like the answer right now.

This one started with wanting an easy side dish to pork chops, but not applesauce. I love making applesauce, but I usually make a large batch and freeze some of it. Once you start peeling apples, after all, you might as well do a lot of them.

But for this meal, Mollie Katzen presented a quicker alternative, in her cookbook "Sunlight Cafe." She includes many ideas for using fruit, and the recipe titled Caramelized Fruit caught my eye. It required about a half-pound of fruit (such as two apples), a bit of butter, some balsamic or cider vinegar and a tiny bit of sugar,  all gently cooked in a skillet, which is deglazed with orange juice to make a light sauce.

The ingredients alchemized into a delicious dish with a surprising depth of flavor, perfect alongside the pork, though I think it also would be wonderful alongside whole wheat pancakes or waffles.

What the apples weren't, however, was caramelized. "Caramelized" gets overused in recipes, I think, because it sounds delicious. But instead it should say in many cases "sautéed on low heat until tender." True caramelization, of onions or other produce with natural sugars, requires much more time -- or much higher dry heat -- than most recipes include. The apples didn't really brown, for example. Katzen suggests peaches or plums among other fruits to use, and those might break down a little more since their flesh is less firm and sugars more obvious.

She also suggests using the broiler as an option to finish the dish. I did, using the low setting, which cooked the apples a bit more but still not brown. The high setting may have been preferable, but I wanted to finish cooking dinner, and the end result was just fine.

On apple choices: I used one Braeburn and one Pink Lady apple, both sweet-tart varieties with medium density. I would not use Granny Smiths -- too dense and tart -- or the soft ones like Golden Delicious or Galas (save those for the applesauce).

Anyway, I coined a new name for this recipe:

Enhanced apples

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/2 to 3/4 pound apples (2 medium); alternatively, use Bartlett pears or pineapple, or peaches, apricots or plums in season

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or balsamic or raspberry vinegar, depending on the fruit used)

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/4 cup or more orange juice, preferably fresh squeezed

Instructions:

Prepare the fruit: Core and thickly slice the apples. No need to peel them.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, then add the butter. When it melts, add the apple slices and cook for about 5 minutes, until the side down starts to soften. (Preheat the broiler at this point, if planning to use it. Be sure to use a skillet with an ovenproof handle.)

Flip the slices over to cook the other side. Drizzle with the vinegar, and cook the second side for 3 to 5 minutes, or until barely tender. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and cook for another minute until the sugar melts.

If using the broiler: Place the pan under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, checking after every minute or so to prevent scorching.

For all methods: Remove the pan from heat, and transfer the fruit to a serving bowl or plate.

Return the still-hot skillet to the stovetop, and add the orange juice, stirring it to scrape up any sugar or fruit traces that remain. Pour this sauce over the apple slices. (The apples will soak up a lot of it.) Serve hot or at room temperature.