Pastila
4 servings
600 minutes
Apple pastila, which has become a national gastronomic fetish in Russia over the past five years, has nothing to do with the snow-white powdered bars we are accustomed to since childhood. The kind that is now commonly prepared at home is made according to classic 19th-century recipes restored in Kolomna and Belev. Or like Irina Chadeeva - according to the recipe of Elena Molokhovets. Elena Molokhovets' recipe is simple and straightforward: for two glasses of applesauce - a glass of sugar and two or three egg whites. This version has slightly different proportions , but the result is no worse.
1
Bake apples in the oven at 180–200 degrees for about half an hour. When the skin cracks and the apples inside become soft, remove them from the oven, cool them down, peel off the skin and core, and transfer the pulp to a sieve.
- Antonov apples: 5 piece
2
Carefully strain the apple pulp through a sieve into a clean bowl. A blender can be used if desired, but it may leave bits of seeds and tough skins in the puree, so it's safer to use a sieve — the old-fashioned way.
3
Add 170 grams of sugar to the still warm apple puree and mix thoroughly. Let the puree cool and add the egg white. Whisk for five to seven minutes until a uniform white mass is achieved. The volume of the mass should be increased two, preferably three times.
- Sugar: 170 g
- Egg white: 1 piece
4
Transfer the resulting mixture to a fireproof mold (20×30 cm or round with a diameter of about 23 cm), leaving about a cup for greasing the pastille. Place the mold in an oven preheated to 70 degrees for eight hours.
5
Remove the mold from the oven, let it cool, and carefully lift the hardened mass onto a cutting board using a knife or spatula if necessary. Cut the pastille into equal rectangles with a sharp knife.
6
Stack the rectangles on top of each other, greasing each layer with the apple-protein mixture (depending on the shape used, there may be three or even five to six layers). Dry in the oven for another two hours at 70 degrees.
7
Remove the pastille from the oven, trim the uneven edges with a sharp knife to create a neat rectangle. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl and coat the pastille on all sides. Shake off excess powdered sugar.
- Powdered sugar: to taste
8
Place the finished pastille on a plate, cut into thin slices with a dessert knife, and serve with milk or cheese with tea. At room temperature, the pastille does not harden for about two days, sometimes even longer.