I have just walked into my nearest supermarket and looked at the apples. In the height of the English apple season we are offered apples from Australia (two varieties), New Zealand (one), South Africa (one), France (three) and England (two). It is hard to understand the bewildering economics that can make an apple from the other side of the world commercially competitive but one can only assume that this is the case. Most of these imported apples are sweet, brightly coloured and simple in flavour. We know that supermarkets work on the lowest common denominator and generally have a low opinion of their customers’ tastes but can it really be true that they cannot sell a Blenheim Orange, a Laxton’s Supreme or a Lord Lambourne as well as a Cox’s Orange Pippin? Do they really have to peddle the likes of the Gala, the Golden Delicious and the Jazz?

It depends, I suppose, what the apple is for. If you keep your apples in the fridge and want something simple and refreshing, for the children when they come home from school, one can understand the point of the Pink Lady or the Granny Smith. They are juicy and fit, as they say, for purpose. If you consider an apple as something more interesting than this, however, as something with a richness of flavour that can be savoured, then you will be disappointed by these imported varieties. That is not necessarily to denigrate apples from countries other than Britain: the French, for instance, have some superb varieties such as the beautiful Calville – but they do not come here.

One of our best apples is the Cox’s Orange Pippin, and that, happily, does grace the supermarket shelves even though it is occasionally imported from New Zealand. But the Egremont Russet – related to the French reinette – may need seeking out. Its dull brown colour and soft skin does not make it especially alluring and it has to be conceded that the flesh is less crisp than most. What distinguishes it is the flavour. Its rich wine-like taste, slightly nutty, slightly creamy and very long in the finish makes it not only a beautiful dessert apple – try it peeled and quartered with an alternate nibble of fine cheddar – but very good cooked. An old fashioned “apple dumpling” – a cored apple filled with sugar, butter and dried fruit and wrapped and baked in pastry – is best made with a russet and the tart below also demonstrates their superior flavour.

Rowley Leigh is the chef at Le Café Anglais
rowley.leigh@ft.com
More columns at www.ft.com/leigh

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Russet tart with pinenuts

Any good dessert apple can be substituted if the Russet is unavailable. The tart will serve up to eight.

The pastry
125g flour
120g butter
50g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg

Method
● Cream the butter and sugar with the beater of a food mixer or in a bowl with a wooden spoon. When they are perfectly smooth add the beaten egg and incorporate them into the mass to form a wet paste. Sieve the flour and add to the mixture, folding it in very gently without working the dough. Collect together into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate.
● Butter a 26cm tart ring. Roll out the dough into a large enough disc and, collecting it on the rolling pin, drop it into the ring. Push the dough well into the corners and ensure that there is a 1cm overlap all around the ring. Cover with cling film and refrigerate.

The almond cream
75g butter
75g sugar
1 egg
50g ground almonds
10g flour
1 dsp dark rum (if available)

Method
● Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Add the egg to make a smooth paste and the rum if you happen to have it. Fold in the ground almonds and mix into a smooth dough. Sieve in the flour and stir into the mix gently.

The tart
5 russet apples
1 lemon
50g pinenuts
2 tbs icing sugar

Method
● Fill the tart case with a half-centimetre layer of almond cream. Peel, halve and core the apples and roll them in the juice of the lemon diluted with four tablespoons of cold water. Place them close together, cut side down, on to the almond cream. Bake in a medium hot oven (400ºF, Mark 6, 200ºC) for 25 minutes, turn down to 350ºF (Mark 4, 180ºC), scatter the pine nuts over the surface and cook for another 20 minutes. Five minutes from the end, sprinkle the icing sugar through a sieve over the surface of the tart and return to the oven.
● Once cooked, remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool. It is best served tepid an hour or so after cooking with some thick cream or crème fraîche.