Pour the honey into a saucepan 20 cm in diameter. Add 4 dl of water and the anise stars. Bring to a boil.
Peel the apples, leaving the stems. Rub each apple with the lemon half. Immerse them in a boiling syrup and cook for 30 minutes at a low simmer, uncovered, turning them from time to time.
Drain the apples and put them in a deep dish. Reduce the cooking syrup for 5 minutes over medium heat, until small bubbles form. Spread it over the apples.
Serve these apples hot or warm. They are also very good cold and even iced.
Accompany the apples with almond tuiles:mix 1 tablespoon of flour and 80 g of caster sugar. Add 25 g of melted butter, 120 g of slivered almonds, 2 egg whites, and mix well.
Let the dough rest for 12 hours in the fridge, then roll it out into very thin discs or long strips on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes in the oven. (175°C), then lift the tiles with a slotted spatula:they must be soft and elastic. Place them astride a rolling pin if they are small, or on a bottle if they are large, or even twist the strips on a spatula handle. Very quickly, the tiles will dry, taking on a nice color. Then let them cool on a wire rack.
Source:recipe by the Scotto Sisters at Editions du Chêne
