Raw Apple Freedom
My darling boyfriend is away for the month, and while I miss him terribly, I am enjoying cooking just for myself. Amir is allergic to a number of raw fruits (anything that crossbreeds with birch, which is everything), meaning he cannot eat apples, cherries, pears, peaches, plums, etc, etc, unless they’re lightly cooked. He also doesn’t like goat cheese, I don’t know what’s wrong with him there. So, once he was off to another continent I broke out the raw apples and partied down! (I’m crazy like that.)
Years ago (maybe last year? I have no sense of time), my mom gave me Mollie Katzen’s The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without, and I’d never cracked it open until last week, and how glad I am that I did. I love me some broccoli, my mom always told us that they were like little brushes cleaning out your insides (I think she cribbed that from my godmother), and as I said before, I’m enjoying my new-found raw apple freedom (wahoo!), so the first dish I zeroed in on was this broccoli and apple salad.
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It’s pretty simple stuff: broccoli, apples, red onion and a honey-mustard marinade, but it’s pretty addictive. It takes all of 10 minutes to make and is so good for you and tastes even better the next day once the broccoli has had a chance to wallow in all that honey-mustardy goodness.
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| From food |
Broccoli, Apples & Red Onion in Honey-Mustard Marinade
adapted from The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without by Mollie Katzen
1 large bunch broccoli (about 1-1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I think you can be a little generous with the vinegar)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp minced or crushed garlic (I used one small clove)
1/4 tsp salt
2 teaspoons light-colored honey
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 medium-sized tart apple, thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1) Put a large saucepan of water to boil. In the meantime, cut the broccoli tops into medium-sized spears.
2) Slice your onion and place it in a large colander in the sink.
3) Slice your apple (you might want to wait to add the apple until you’re ready to serve, though I found that the apple didn’t brown too much, even after a day or so in the fridge).
4) Once the water is boiling, turn it down to a simmer and add your broccoli. Cook for one or two minutes, your broccoli should be bright green and tender-crisp (to your liking).
5) Pour the broccoli and all its water over the red onions in the colander. (The hot water will wilt the onion slightly upon contact.) Place the colander of vegetables under cold water for a few minutes, then shake to drain well.
6) While your vegetables are cooling (though you may have time to get a head start on this while you wait for the water to boil), measure the vinegar into a medium-large bowl. While whisking add the mustard, garlic, salt, and honey.
7) Keep whisking as you drizzle in the oil in a steady stream. The mixture will thicken as the oil becomes incorporated.
Add your vegetables and apple to the bowl of dressing and toss until they’re well coated. You can serve it right away (or eat it directly from the bowl) or leave it in the fridge to marinate, where the flavors will deepen (for real, it’s delicious on day two). Serve cold, or at room temperature, topped with freshly ground pepper to taste.
As a side note: I wonder if I add the apples to the red onion in the colander, if the hot water running over them would cook them enough to stave off an allergic reaction in A? I’ll have to give it a try.
Also, another note: Mollie has a recipe for Broccoli Stem Pickles that makes use of all those lovely stems you toss for this recipe, another thing I’ll have to try.
One Response to “Raw Apple Freedom”
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The colors and textures look beautiful together. This dish seems like a great blend of delicious, nutritious, unconventional and cheap! Great work, Naomi.