If this picture doesn’t make you want to curl up with a glass of red wine and tuck into a big bowl, I don’t know what could. I took one of my favorite comfort foods, roasted chicken, and added a rich bottle of hard apple cider to the marinade. The outcome was ridiculously moist and flavorful chicken, and it’s sitting on a cozy bed of Brussels sprouts and gala apples. Apples add such depth and sweetness to any dish, below are my favorite new recipes to highlight them. Now bring on the fall weather already!
Rose Shaped Apple Tarts
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 3 red apples, I used gala
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar, plus more for top
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 3 tbsp cinnamon
- 3 tbsp apricot preserves
- water
- Buttered Muffin tin
Instructions
- Cut apples into very thin slices, removing core, and toss in sugar and lemon juice. Here is a helpful video on how exactly to cut the apples.
- Allow to soften for at least half an hour, then strain out the liquid. Apples should be very soft and pliable.
- Heat oven to 375. Roll out puff pastry and cut into 6 even strips. You may want to dust it with flour to prevent sticking.
- Coat 1 sliced puff pastry with thinned apricot preserve (that’s where the water comes in, just stir into preserves until thinned, but not runny).
- Place apple slices, skin side up, on half the puff pastry, fanning the slices so they overlap.
- Fold the other half of the puff pastry over the apples, with enough of the slices poking out.
- Begin rolling up the puff pastry from one end to the other, until you make a pinwheel shape. Tuck the end of the puff pastry around and gently press down to ensure it is closed.
- Repeat with the other five sheets of puff pastry.
- Place the rose-shaped tarts in a muffin tin and dust with cinnamon and more granulated sugar.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove, gently scoop the tarts from the muffin tin and allow to cool before serving.
You can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and drizzle salted caramel sauce for a beautiful touch. Enjoy!
Keywords: Rose Shaped Apple Tarts,
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup, packed, dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp cold butter
- a generous splash of vanilla
- generous pinch of coarse sea salt
Instructions
In a saucepan, add brown sugar, heavy cream, butter and sea salt. On medium-high, stir for about 4 minutes. Add in the vanilla and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Once cooled enough to taste, try and add sea salt if necessary.
Keywords: Salted Caramel Sauce
Hard Apple Cider Roasted Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Gala Apples
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces, but with skin on and bone-in
- 1 bottle hard apple cider
- 1 large knob of fresh ginger, cut into half-inch slices
- 5 whole garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2.5 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half
- 2 large Gala apples
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cider, ginger, garlic, mustard, honey, olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until dissolved and taste for seasoning (it should taste salty, sweet and tangy from the cider).
- Add the chicken and marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to cook the chicken, turn the oven on to 350 degrees.
- Heat a frying pan to medium high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Sear the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes or until browned. Flip and cook for another two minutes.
- Remove from pan and add Brussels Sprouts and apples, along with thyme sprigs and another generous pinch of salt and cracked pepper. There should be some juices from the chicken, but otherwise, a splash of water will help cook down the sprouts and apples.
- After sautéing and stirring for several minutes, turn off heat.
- Place Brussels Sprouts and apples in the bottom of a baking dish.
- Place chicken pieces on top and cook in the oven for 20 minutes (when you poke the chicken liquid should run clear. If liquid is pink, continue cooking). Serve and enjoy!
Keywords: Hard Apple Cider Roasted Chicken
