3 Unique Apple Recipes You’ve Never Tried

 

If you’ve been leaving apples for dessert and breakfast, think again. Sweet and savory is the ultimate flavor combo and apples provide just the right amount of sweet-tartness to make savory dishes unexpectedly awesome.

Besides being epically tasty and delightfully versatile, apples are packed with nutrients your body needs, like fiber, vitamin C (one apple contains around 10% of your recommended daily intake), and vitamins E, B1, and B6.

Apples also contain polyphenols: antioxidants that can protect against chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer.

 

Leave the skin on apples when you can — it’s the part of the fruit most dense with fiber and polyphenols! With so many varieties of apples grown in the U.S. (about 2,500, in fact!) you’re about to embark on a flavor journey to delight your taste buds.

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Apples On Horseback

By Grace Paris for Food & Wine

Here’s a super-simple yet elegant appetizer for gameday, holidays, and cocktail parties.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 16 thin slices of pancetta
• 1 Pink Lady apple—peeled and cut into 16 wedges
• 3 ounces Manchego cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks
• Rosemary sprigs or toothpicks for skewers

Make it!

• Preheat a grill pan.
• Lay out pancetta slices. Place an apple wedge and a cheese stick in the center of each slice.
• Wrap the pancetta around the filling and secure with a rosemary sprig or toothpick.
• Grill the skewers until the pancetta is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Serve hot

 

Butternut-Apple Soup

By Erin Clarke of Well Plated

This recipe, inspired by simple-and-rich French bistro food, uses tart apples, creamy squash, and fresh nutmeg to offer stunning Fall flavors and color.

The ingredients are plentiful, inexpensive, and easy to find in the organic section! Plus, you can freeze and reheat this one for quick cold-season meals anytime.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions chopped (about 3 cups total)
• 2 large butternut squash about 5 pounds total, peeled and diced into chunks
• 4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (use a mix of sweet apples, like McIntosh, and tart, like Granny Smith)
• 3-4 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Make it!

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large, deep stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over low. Add the onions and cook until very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• While the onions cook, cut and peel the squash and apples.
• Add them to the pot, then add 2 cups of the stock. Bring the pot to a boil, reduce the heat to low, then cover, and cook until the squash and apples are very soft, about 20 to 30 minutes depending upon how larger you cut your squash and apple pieces (smaller pieces will cook more quickly).
• Once the apples and squash in the soup pot are tender, puree the soup with an immersion blender or carefully transfer it to a food processor fitted with a steel blade to puree in batches.
• Return soup to the pot.
• Add 1 cup of the remaining chicken stock, then stir, adding a bit more stock as needed to reach your desired consistency — thick and rick is best
• Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne. Add more salt and pepper as desired.

 

Apple & Cheddar Quesadillas

We saved the best for last! This amazingly unexpected ingredient combination is a crowd-pleaser for potlucks and parties. The best part about this recipe is how creative you can get with addition! Bacon, chicken, or some leafy greens — bonus points if those greens are organically grown in your own garden!

Try a sweet, crisp apple variety like Fuji or Honeycrisp for this one.

Ingredients

• 2 medium apples, thinly sliced
• 4 flour tortillas
• Sliced cheddar cheese
• Whatever else you want to add!

Make it!

Assemble sliced apples and cheese (and any additions) on a tortilla. Place on a lightly oiled pan or cast iron skillet. Top with another tortilla and grill until cheese is melted and tortillas.