This is the last of three sponsored posts for the #loveNZfruit promotion. I have enjoyed creating these recipes, and I hope you’ve enjoyed them as well. Here’s my Taylor’s Gold Pear recipe, and here’s the lovely salad I made with Envy Apples last month. This month is special, though. This month, Jazz Apples has partnered up with The Canadian and American Diabetes Foundations with Crunch to Contribute. Post a photo of you crunching an intensely apple-y and crunchy Jazz Apple and the lovelies at Jazz Apples will donate a dollar to either the Canadian or American Diabetes Associations. Pretty cool, right? So, crunch away and share your snaps!
For ease of browsing, here are all of my side dish recipes.
Zephyr Squash, Onion and Apple Saute
Since this month’s focus is diabetic friendly foods, I’m offering a side that is naturally sweet and a bit savory. I’ve made it three times now, which is almost unheard of for me since I rarely make the same thing twice! It gets its sweetness from caramelized sweet onions, tender, mildly nutty zephyr squash and of course, Jazz Apples. A tiny bit of added sweetness from palm sugar, a low-glycemic sweetener, and a bit of a tang from apple cider vinegar round out the flavors nicely. I’m pretty sure this is a side dish you’ll want to make again and again.
Jazz Apples are surprisingly crunchy and intensely apple-y. Almost wine-y. They’re delicious, but if you eat them out of hand, know that they brown pretty quickly. So eat fast! Cooking them effectively kills the enzymes that cause browning, so no worries about your apples turning color once cooked. In fact, some of the red from the peel colors parts of the flesh, lending the half moons of apple a rosy hue. Lovely, and delicious too.
I have to reiterate that, as much as I like to eat local foods from North Carolina, it’s really great to know that fruit in New Zealand is in season now and ready to use when I want it. And I want it in this sauté! You will too.
Zephyr Squash, Onion and Apple Saute
A sweet and savory side dish. The combination of sweet onion, mellow squash, and crisp-sweet apple make for a wonderful side dish, especially for chicken or pork.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, , diced
- salt and pepper, , to taste
- 2 5 "-6" zephyr squash, , washed and cut into rings 1/4" thick
- 1 Jazz apple, , washed but unpeeled, cut into half moons (make four straight cuts around the core
- from end to end. Slice each piece into thin half moons)
- 2 teaspoons palm sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish, , optional
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion along with a bit of salt and pepper and cook until the onion begins to sizzle.
- Turn the heat down and let the onions slowly take on some color.
- Add the squash and apple along with a bit more salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and flipping gently with a spatula to make sure all the fruit and vegetables come in contact with the hot pan.
- Add the sugar and vegetable broth.
- Cover and let simmer over low-ish heat for about five minutes.
- Remove the lid, turn the heat up to medium and reduce until the broth is almost gone.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Right before serving, toss with the 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.
- Serve with the optional parsley.
- Enjoy.
As you’ll notice in the recipe, there are not a ton of ingredients in this dish. The secret is time–time to let the apples caramelize, time to let the squash and apples get tender and take on some color. Use great ingredients, treat them with respect, don’t rush things, and you’ll end up with a delicious dish that is much more about technique than it is about the ingredient list. Although the Jazz Apples make it pretty special.
Other Jazz Apple Recipes from the #loveNZfruit Bloggers
Potato Salad with Apples from Cook the Story
Healthy Chicken Waldorf Salad from It’s Yummi!
Zephyr Squash, Onion and Apple Saute from Pastry Chef Online
Apple Basil Mojitos from Cooking with Books
Campfire Apple and Pork Packets from Big Bear’s Wife
Apple & Chicken Salad with Honey Poppyseed Dressing from Around My Family Table
Summer Bounty Salad from Real Housemoms
Grilled Romaine Salad with Quinoa, Apples, Corn, & Dijon Vinaigrette from Climbing Grier Mountain
Pea Shoot, Pickled Cherry and Apple Salad from Nutmeg Nanny
Cinnamon and Ginger Jazz Apple Chips from doughmesstic
It all sounds delicious, healthy and summery. So the next time you are trying to come up with summer dishes using apples, remember the #loveNZfruit promotion!
If you try this dish, or any of the dishes featured in the three-month promotion, or even if you just think the fruit sound great, why not hit up Jazz Apples on twitter and let them know!
Thanks so much for spending some time here today, friends!
Becca from It's Yummi! says
Wowza, Jenni! This salad will take me straight to Flavor Town! LOVE <3
Jennifer Field says
Flavor Town. It’s where we want to be! =)
Christine at Cook the Story says
There’s a beauty of a side dish if ever I saw one!
Jennifer Field says
Thanks Christine–it is delicious! I’m serious when I say I never make the same thing exactly the same twice in a row, let alone three times!
Peter @ Feed Your Soul Too says
I really like the colors and the different way to use squash.
Jennifer Field says
Thanks, Peter! I am not generally a squash fan, but the zephyr squash is kind of magical, and adding sweet onion and apples sort of tricks me into believing they’re dessert! =)
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
That you made this dish three times is testimony to just how delicious it must be! Now, I HAVE to make it! 🙂
Jennifer Field says
I’m telling you, Betsy, it’s unprecedented! I hope you love it!
Denise says
Great flavors Jenni. This would be really amazing alongside a grilled pork chop.
Jennifer Field says
I sort of envisioned it going with grilled meat–and I’ve made it with bacon fat and crisp bacon, and that’s delicious, so grilled pork is probably the perfect meat for it!
Ansh says
I don’t think I have ever eaten a Zephyr Squash. The slowly caramelized onions and apples are making me dream of this dish.
Jennifer Field says
I had never had them before this summer, Ansh, and until I tried them, I was not a fan of squash. Here’s some info about them–they’re beautiful and delicious! http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1188/