prep
15 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 green apples
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthways
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- vodka, chilled in the freezer
Makes enough apple and vanilla syrup for 8–10 martinis.
Instructions
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Remove the peel from 2 apples and add the peel to the sugar syrup with half of the vanilla bean. Place the apples in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning and juice later. Simmer the syrup for 5 minutes, remove form the heat and allow to cool. Strain and discard apple peel and vanilla bean. Chill the syrup.
Juice the 2 peeled apples and add the lime juice, chill.
Scrap the seeds from the remaining half of the vanilla bean and rub the vanilla seeds into the caster sugar, set aside.
Chill 2 martini glasses and dip the rim in the vanilla sugar. Pour 1 tablespoon of the apple and vanilla syrup into each glass, add 2 tablespoon of vodka (or more if you like) into each glass and then top with fresh apple and lime juice.
Using a mandolin thinly slice the remaining apple; serve a slice in each glass.
Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.