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You know Brian and I love a friendly competition, so when we had a million apples left over from filming our last video, we knew just what to do – Jessica vs. Brian… apple edition!
The rules for the challenge were pretty simple. We could use any (or all) of the apples from our taste test. We did have a day or so to think about what we wanted to do and pick up any necessary additional ingredients. Obviously the recipes had to be whole food plant-based. Other than that, anything was fair game.
Skip to Brian’s Applesauce Recipe >>
Skip to Jessica’s Fuji Apple Dressing Recipe >>
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Be sure to watch the video and use #Brian or #Jessica to vote for your favorite in the comments on YouTube!
Contestant #1: Brian’s SUPER Applesauce
If you watched the apple taste test, then you know that we had 16 apple halves left after filming. Brian got creative and decided to make a SUPER APPLESAUCE! Yes, 16 different apples went into this sauce.
His secret ingredient was some Cinnamon Apple Spice herbal tea. He brewed two tea bags in two cups of water and used this as his cooking liquid for the apples.
He had already roughly chopped up the apples the day before and added lemon juice to keep them fresh.
He left them simmering for quite a while and I can tell you that the apartment smelled AMAZING!
After cooking, it was just as easy as using the immersion blender to get it to the right consistency. We like our applesauce a little bit chunky, but you can blend as much as you want. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with the final product.
We included the “recipe” for what Brian did below. Keep in mind, he only did this once, so we weren’t able to perfect the recipe, but I think these basic guidelines are a great starting point for making your own applesauce!
Brian's SUPER Applesauce
by Krocks In The Kitchen
Ingredients
- – 8 to 10 medium apples, cored and diced *SEE NOTES BELOW
- – 2 bags Cinnamon Apple Spice herbal tea
- – 1 tsp cinnamon
- – dash nutmeg
- – dash ground cloves
Directions
- Core apples and roughly chop into approximately 2 inch cubes.
- Brew the tea in 2 cups of boiling water.
- Add apples, brewed tea, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves to a large pot or Dutch oven.
- Stir, cover and cook on medium-low, stirring occasionally until apples start to fall apart. Cooking times will vary depending on what kind of apples you use, the size of your cubes, etc. Brian says the amount of time doesn’t matter – you are just looking for them to get softened and start to fall apart. He cooked his for over an hour.
- Once apples have softened, use an immersion blender to blitz until your desired consistency is achieved. You can also carefully transfer to a regular blender, but keep in mind that not all blenders are designed to blend hot contents, so you may need to let the apples cool first!
- Transfer to a container and enjoy!
NOTES:
- – You can use any kind of apple you like. Brian used a combination of ALL of the apples from our Apple Tasting video, which included Fuji, Pink Lady, Gala, Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Rave, Jazz, Kanzi, Envy, Granny Smith, McIntosh and Rockit.
- – We left the skins on our apples, but you can peel if you prefer.
- – This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of applesauce.
- – Ours lasted for 5-7 days in the fridge before we ate it all!
Contestant #2: Jessica’s Salad with Fuji Apple Dressing
All of the apples were so beautiful, I thought they would look (and taste) really nice on a salad!
However, I also knew I had to step up my game and that just chopping up a few apples and throwing them on a salad would not win me this challenge.
I decided to make a dressing using the Fuji apple. I ended up pairing it with lemon juice, Medjool dates, apple cider vinegar, tahini, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper and black pepper.
Okay sooo… I may have consulted with a good friend on the ingredients for the dressing. I had the idea of using the Fuji apple, dates, lemon juice and maybe some cashews. Then I was talking with my friend Anthony and he suggested the addition of the other ingredients. I have to admit, I would have never thought to add the Italian seasoning, and I think it turned out really great! Thanks AntG 😉
Peef supervised all of my progress, so just remember… a vote for me is also a vote for Peef… and my friend Anthony! 😂
I included the dressing recipe below, but I’ve only made this once, so I’m sure it can use some tweaking. I paired it with a lovely spring mix, some broccoli slaw, chopped dates, red onion and of course, more apples!
Jessica & Anthony's Fuji Apple Dressing
by Krocks In The Kitchen
Ingredients
- – 1 Fuji Apple, cored and diced
- – 2 pitted Medjool dates
- – 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- – 2 Tbsp Tahini (32g)
- – 1/4 cup water
- – 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- – 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- – Small pinch of crushed red pepper
- – Pinch of black pepper
Directions
- Core apple and roughly chop into approximately 1-2 inch cubes.
- Add all ingredients, including diced apples, to a blender.
- Blend until smooth, approximately 1 minute if using a high speed blender like a Vitamix.
- Transfer to a container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
*Shown above served on a salad with spring mix, broccoli slaw, red onion, chopped dates and diced apples.
Jill’s Apple Pie
As a bonus (and to make up for the fact that I kinda sorta but didn’t REALLY cheat), I used up the rest of the Pink Lady apples to make this delicious apple pie! Yes, you read that correctly… I finally made Brian a PIE!
Our friend Jill Dalton (of The Whole Food Plant Based Cooking Show) just happened to release this amazing apple pie recipe the day we were filming the apple challenge, so I couldn’t resist! If you want to make your own pie, check out Jill’s recipe here.
Vote for your favorite in the comments of the video using #Jessica or #Brian! We will announce the winner on an upcoming live stream video.
Featured Products:
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Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea, Cinnamon Apple Spice, 20 CountOXO Good Grips Apple Slicer, Corer and Divider
Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series Smart Blender, Professional-Grade (Renewed)
Vitamix Ascent Series Blending Cup Starter Kit, 20 oz. (NOTE: This only works with Ascent Series Vitamix Blenders)
Mueller Austria Ultra-Stick 500 Watt 9-Speed Immersion Blender
OXO 1157100 Good Grips 5 Lb Food Scale with Pull-Out Display
KYOKU Daimyo Series – Damascus Santoku Knife 7″
OXO Good Grips 7-Piece Nesting Measuring Beaker Set
Tupperware Impressions Classic Bowl Set
One of the best applesauces in the world is to put your favorite apples in a food processor and add desired spices, such as cinnamon and ginger and process to desired consistency.
Wo la, it’s done.
This can be eaten as a side (like applesauce is) and can also be spooned on a sheet of puff pastry, folded and sides pinched together then baked till golden brown and you have a delicious little apple pie.