It’s not officially fall until you go apple picking. I could drink all the PSL’s in the world, but that sunny yet crisp day spent at the orchard is what gets me in the mood for fall. True story.
This #SundayFunday we made our way up to Applewood Farm Winery to get in on the very first weekend of the season. If you live in the Toronto area, we highly recommend Applewood as they also make a number of apple products in house, including cider, relishes and more.
It was a nice day so it was busy AF, but it was still easy to get a great haul of apples so we could continue the day making some fun recipes at Vanessa’s place. Because that’s ultimately why you go apple picking – to eats lot’s of food with apples after the fact.
The ginger golden apples we picked up were so fresh that a salad was calling to us, but there’s a number of recipes that we love where apples are the star ingredient. Yes, apple pies and crumbles are solid, but apples are underrated as a savoury ingredient, they pair really well with things like squash, cheddar cheese and salty meats like prosciutto. We’ve included a bunch to make it easy for you to narrow down what you’d like to make post-apple picking, followed by our delicious apple salad recipe.
- Savoury Apple Tart from Food and Drink Magazine
- Apple-Butternut Squash Soup by our gal Martha Stewart
- Cornbread with Caramelized Apples and Onions by Bon Appetit Magazine
- Scallops with Apple Pan Sauce from Epicurious
- Apple Pomegranate Cobbler from Food & Wine
For the salad, proportions are entirely up to you:
- Field greens (though you could also use spinach or kale)
- Apples, sliced
- Squash (we used acorn but you could also use butternut)
- Sharp cheddar cheese (anything that’s hard enough to crumble)
- Red onion
- Dried currants
- Candied pecans
- Pumpkin seeds
- Hemp hearts
- Pomegranate (optional)
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of apple cider vinaigrette
- 1 tbs of Dijon mustard
- 1 tbs of ample syrup
- 1 tsp of minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp of finely chopped rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a massive salad bowl and toss with dressing. Easy as (apple) pie! If you choose to candy your own pecans, we recommend using maple syrup. Heat about 1/4 cup of maple syrup over medium heat until it comes to a simmer and then add pecans. You’ll want to use a spatula to keep turning them until the syrup reduces to a point where only your pecans are coated.
Crisp weather requires a hot bevvy, so we couldn’t resist sipping on a boozy hot apple cider as we put our salad together. It’s packed with all of your fave fall flavours! You can grab the recipe here.
We’ve got a great apple picking soundtrack, whether you’re driving to and from the farm or working some magic in the kitchen.