flipThe Exile's Baked Apple
The Exile's Baked Apple
Why this dish? In 1943, ill and exiled in London, Simone Weil refused to eat more than the rations of occupied France; her health declined until her death in August. The baked apple, sweet and easy to swallow, is the kind of tiny, comforting food offered to a sick person who refuses everything else: a fruit, barely transformed, that she might have accepted.
A simple apple baked in the oven until it collapses, warm and tender. A remedy for the sick and children, almost nothing, but comforting as a hand on the forehead.
They urged me to eat, in London, and I could not and would not more than my starving compatriots. An apple passed in the oven, however, one can take without betraying anyone: it is the fruit of the tree, barely softened by heat. Its warm and slightly acidic flesh can be swallowed when everything else repels. Eat it slowly, with a spoon, and think that the smallest food, received with attention, is already a grace.
- •Cooking apple (reinette) — 1 (fruit, base)
- •Water — a splash (to prevent sticking)
- •Honey — a little (if tolerated) (sweetness)
The Exile's Baked Apple
A simple apple baked in the oven until it collapses, warm and tender. A remedy for the sick and children, almost nothing, but comforting as a hand on the forehead.
Why this dish? In 1943, ill and exiled in London, Simone Weil refused to eat more than the rations of occupied France; her health declined until her death in August. The baked apple, sweet and easy to swallow, is the kind of tiny, comforting food offered to a sick person who refuses everything else: a fruit, barely transformed, that she might have accepted.
They urged me to eat, in London, and I could not and would not more than my starving compatriots. An apple passed in the oven, however, one can take without betraying anyone: it is the fruit of the tree, barely softened by heat. Its warm and slightly acidic flesh can be swallowed when everything else repels. Eat it slowly, with a spoon, and think that the smallest food, received with attention, is already a grace.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cooking apple (reinette) — 1 (fruit, base)
- Water — a splash (to prevent sticking)
- Honey — a little (if tolerated) (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Reinette or Boskoop apple — 1 per person (fruit, base)
- Honey — 1 tsp (sweetness)
- A knob of butter — optional (softness)
- Water — 2 tbsp (cooking)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Core the apple without piercing through.
- Place it in a small dish, add a splash of water, and put the honey (and butter) in the cavity.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the flesh is tender and the skin wrinkled.
- Let it cool slightly and eat with a spoon, basting with the cooking juices.
How it was made : The apple baked in the oven or under ashes had long been the food of the sick and convalescent: sweet, digestible, made of a single fruit, it was prepared without a recipe in every kitchen.
The contemporary twist : A pinch of cinnamon and the apple served in its wrinkled skin, like a small golden casket — intact childhood comfort.
Sources : Simone Pétrement, La Vie de Simone Weil (1973) · Culinary practices for convalescents, France, first half of the 20th century
Simone Weil · Charactorium
