Honeycrisp Apple Salad With Walnuts And Pumpkin Seeds

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

Hello November. Your arrival marks the end of the surrealness that was the last half week. Subways are once again open with limited service, supermarkets are operating in full swing, fallen trees are finally being cleared from roads that have been mostly empty for the last few days.

While those of us living in the Brooklyn area were lucky enough to experience very little damage from the hurricane, the pictures tell a different story. I think they’re what lends to the unrealness of the situation: the incongruity between what we witnessed firsthand and the chaos documented elsewhere. Most of you saw a coast that was being battered by unrelenting forces of nature. On the other hand, many of us sat around all of Tuesday night waiting for the power to go out, which didn’t happen, and trees to topple, which did, but only a little.

I feel fortunate that I could tell our friends and family that we were fine. I know that many weren’t as lucky, and my thoughts go out to them.

As soon as the markets re-opened today, I rushed out and bought fresh produce. Because in our rush to pick up emergency supplies, like bottled water and canned beans and vienna sausages (which are dirt cheap compared to Spam—why is that?), we’d forgotten that what we would probably need the most was food to get us through the next couple days.

Hahaha, riiiight.

So, hello November. Let’s start you out right. With a salad, because salads usually do the trick. Especially ones that contain bits of fruit.

Have you ever had a honeycrisp apple? I don’t know how I’ve never heard of them before, because they’re lovely. Maybe because I’ve never been an apple connoisseur; Fujis have always suited me just fine. But I’m seriously digging the crisp/tart/perfect flesh of the honeycrisp. Paired with arugula, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds, not to mention a cider vinegar, honey, and poppy seed dressing, the salad is light and fresh and perky.

For many who were shaken by the storm, light and fresh and perky may be way to start out on the right foot.

HONEYCRISP APPLE SALAD WITH WALNUTS AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Adapted from The Cozy Apron

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For the vinaigrette:

6 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp finely chopped walnuts
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
pinch cumin
salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp olive oil

For the salad:

2 cups arugula
4 cups escarole, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 honeycrisp apple, sliced into thin matchsticks
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup roasted walnuts

Directions:

For the vinaigrette, mix all the ingredients but the olive oil together well in a jar with a lid. Pour in the olive oil, close the jar, and shake it until the dressing is emulsified.

For the salad, in a large bowl, combine the arugula, escarole, half the apples sticks, and half the pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Lightly drizzle with the dressing. Serve the salad onto individual serving plates, and garnish each with the remaining apples, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Drizzle on more dressing as desired.

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Broccoli Rabe & Egg Pizza

Mains

Christiana George

Updated Date:
June 8, 2023

Unbeknownst to all of you, a lot of pizza is made in this apartment. Usually I half-ass it, using Trader Joe’s pre-made pizza dough which needs about 20 minutes of sitting on the counter before it’s ready. And as far as toppings go, we’re not very experimental—bacon, spinach or arugula, and yellow bell pepper all the way, with the occasional mushroom and tomato thrown in. But sometimes, I get it together enough to make my own dough, which, I know I know, is supremely easy to make, so there’s really no good excuse why I don’t.

This time, my impetus was this:

The season’s first broccoli rabe.

And these:

The most velvety, gorgeous-tinted eggs ever. Swoon.

Both reaffirming that the Union Square Greenmarket is my happy place in this city.

Have you had pizza with an egg on it? Since I think eggs make everything taste about a million times better, there’s nothing I love more than topping pizzas with them, baking them until they’re only just set, and taking a sharp implement to them:

All the yolk oozes out. Sweet, fresh yolk.

This pizza was inspired by a gorgeous spinach, runny egg, and Parmesan pizza featured in Polpo, that cookbook I raved about not so long ago. It was a departure from our usual tomato sauce-based pizzas, but I didn’t miss the stuff at all. It was delicious. We demolished it in about five minutes.

I just want to point out, broccoli rabe is not as easy a pleaser as spinach. Its bitterness can be offputting. But the garlic and red pepper flakes transform the bitterness into something else, something toothsome and with bite, so don’t skip the saute! And enjoy!

BROCCOLI RABE & EGG PIZZA

Adapted from Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (Of Sorts)
Serves 1 to 2

Since I don’t have a pizza stone, I used the back of a large heavy-duty baking pan. Just make sure to crank up your oven all the way, and preheat the baking pan while you’re preheating the oven.

Ingredients:

A small ball of pizza dough (1/2 of this recipe)
1 large handful of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp plain yogurt
a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
A few Tbsp grated Parmesan
A handful of mozzarella
Salt & pepper
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to its highest temperature (mine is 500 degrees F) and place your pizza stone/baking pan inside to heat up. You want your oven to be nice and hot, so plan to preheat for at least half an hour.

Blanch the broccoli rabe for about 30 seconds in boiling water, then immediately plunge it into cold water to stop its cooking. Squeeze it out thoroughly, and chop it up. Turn your stove onto medium and pour in a glug of olive oil. When it’s hot, add the garlic and saute for 15 seconds, then add the chopped broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes. Saute for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper, then turn off the stove. Stir in the Parmesan and yogurt.

Roll out your pizza dough to about 10 inches in diameter. At this point, because I don’t have a pizza stone, I usually par-bake the dough for a little while, 3 to 4 minutes, so it’s partially cooked before I bake it again with the toppings. I find that this results in a crisper pizza, and I like not having to worry about whether or not the pizza will be baked through, especially since I tend to load mine down with toppings. Feel free to do so. Spread the broccoli rabe mixture evenly across the pizza (minus the border, of course), leaving a little well in the middle. Crack the egg over the well. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top, as well as some extra Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.

Bake until the crust is blistered and lightly brown and the egg is cooked but still runny. My pizza took about 9 minutes.