Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples, Hazelnuts & Brown Butter Dressing

It is not officially fall yet, but the start of school inspired me to make this Autumn Salad. The kids loved the hazelnuts and apples and we enjoyed the whole salad. Such a full flavored, rich yet citrusy fresh dressing! Enjoy! Happy fall! Happy September!

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples, Hazelnuts Brown Butter Dressing

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples, Hazelnuts & Brown Butter Dressing
Makes 4 to 6 servings
recipe from thekitchn.com

1/4 cup hazelnuts
3/4 pound brussels sprouts
1 small (or 1/2 large) crisp, red-skinned apple
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the hazelnuts on a rimmed sheet pan and toast for 10-15 minutes, or until nuts are lightly golden and skins are peeling away. Wrap nuts in a clean dish towel and let steam for a minute. Rub nuts with the towel to remove as many skins as possible. (Not all of the skins will be removed, which is fine.) Roughly chop the nuts and set aside.

Shave the brussels sprouts by gripping the stem end with your fingers and using a mandoline to slice as thinly as possible down to the stem, or until the sprout is too short to safely slice. (Alternatively, you can use a food processor to shave the sprouts. Trim and discard the stems and use the slicing blade of the food processor to finely shred the sprouts.) Place shaved sprouts in a large mixing bowl. Halve and core the apple, then use the mandoline to cut into slices about 1/4-inch thick. Place apple slices in a small bowl and toss with 2 teaspoons lemon juice to prevent browning.

Have a small Pyrex or other heatproof liquid measuring cup ready. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until butter is dark brown and smells nutty. Immediately pour into the measuring cup to stop the cooking. Let cool slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice and salt. Slowly drizzle in the brown butter, whisking constantly, until dressing is thick and emulsified. Repeat with the grapeseed oil. Taste for seasoning. Pour the dressing over the brussels sprouts and mix in thoroughly with your hands. Add the apples and nuts and mix.

Salad can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated for several hours or up to overnight. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. If making more than 2 hours ahead, add the nuts just before serving for best texture.

Guest Post: Aunt Apple’s Apples

My sister makes these delicious apple treats all the time for my kiddos (and everyone else). Think an awesome healthy version of an apple pie. Since they are such an unbelievable hit (they have even caused a name change ;)) we wanted to share them with you! Perfect time for the Autumn and Jewish Holidays too! My kids will eat these at any meal, any time of day! Enjoy!!!

apple6.jpg

apple4.jpg

Aunt Apple’s Apples

I’m Marisa’s sister Jillian, but my wonderful niece and nephew know me as Aunt Apple. I started making my special apple dessert about two years ago, and they love it so much, I give it to them for every family get-together. It’s vegan, very low fat, low sugar, low carb, high fiber, and most importantly, it’s delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 6 apples (I like using organic Fuji or Gala, but any type will do)
  • 1 tbsp of cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tbsp of brown sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup of raisins
  • 1 cup of Bisquick
  • 1/4 cup of butter flavored Crisco (or other vegan butter substitute)
  • 3 tbsp boiling water

The very first thing you want to do with this recipe is make the dough for the crust; the more time it has to hydrate, the easier it will be to work with. Mix the Bisquick with the Crisco and boiling water, then knead it all together. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator.

The next step is to plump the raisins. You can do this really easily by microwaving the raisins for two minutes with half a cup of water, then draining whatever water is left. If you want the raisins to be even sweeter, you can use fruit juice instead of water to plump them.

Then, you take the apples and cut them in half horizontally. Then, using a sturdy melon baller, scoop out the core, making sure not to puncture the skin of the apple. After you’ve thrown away the core, use the melon baller to scoop out as much of the fruit as possible, and set it aside for the filling.

When you’ve hollowed out all the apples, roughly chop all the scooped out pieces, and mix them with the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and raisins. Toss everything thoroughly to combine.

Now, fill each of the apple with the filling up to the brim.

(If you want to make your dessert gluten-free, your prep work is over, and you can just skip down to the baking specifications.)

Next, take your chilled dough out of the fridge, and roll it out on a non-stick surface or a floured surface. Slice it into thin pieces about three inches long for your lattice crust. And then make a little hashtag on each apple half. Gently press the ends of each dough strip on to the apple.

When these are all completed, put them in a casserole dish. Now, pour a tiny bit of water on the bottom of the dish between the pies, cover the whole thing with tin foil, and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Then uncover the pan, and cook the apples for another 20 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned.

You now have your very own Aunt Apple’s Apples! There will probably be some water left at the bottom of the pan, so move those treats to another vessel, and enjoy!

 

%d bloggers like this: