Ruth Kalinka Designs

Apple Strawberry Fruit Salad

L’Shana Tova! Wishing you all a sweet new year!

I love celebrating new beginnings, hope, and possibility. This holiday speaks to me of mindfulness and transformation as we leave the past behind and move forward with new intentions. As crisp cool temperatures replace summer heat waves and students begin a new school year, fall always feels like a good time for a fresh start.

Apples and honey are traditional Rosh Hashanah symbols for a sweet new year. While they are tasty together, I like getting creative with my fruit salads. This holiday is no exception!

The measurements below produced about 8 cups of salad. Please experiment with more or less of each ingredient to taste. (You might even add cinnamon or lemon!)

Ingredients

• apples (4 medium – tart crisp varieties – I used 2 Granny Smith, 1 Gala, 1 Fuji)
• strawberries (1 pound, about 20 medium berries)
• fresh basil (~6-8 large leaves – I used basil I’d dried, but fresh is prettier and more flavorful)
• fresh ginger (I used 1/4 teaspoon dried, but would prefer ~1/2 teaspoon fresh)
• honey (5 Tablespoons)

Instructions

1. Slice strawberries into serving bowl.
2. Cut basil over strawberries. Cutting tip: lay the clean leaves flat on top of each other, roll the stack of leaves into a tube, and snip first lengthwise and then crosswise to create small pieces that will blend into your salad. (If using dried, tear dried leaves and then rub vigorously between hands.)
3. Add dried ginger OR chop fresh ginger into ~1 mm cubes. (I don’t bother peeling ginger; washing is enough.)
4. Add honey and mix ingredients together gently with a wooden spoon.
5. Peel apples. Cut into ~1/4 inch slices and cut slices in half lengthwise. Stir apples into mixture to coat with the strawberry-honey-basil-ginger glaze.

Enjoy!

This is a classic combination with limitless possibilities. My version embraces the blend of salty/savory (turkey, mushrooms), sweet (swiss cheese, honey, basil), and spicy (black and cayenne pepper), and uses savory/bitter herbs to accent the flavors.

I rarely measure, so the following is a list of estimates for what I used to make one sandwich. These are simply guidelines for enjoying your own unique creation, so experiment!

Sorry there aren’t photos, I was hungry and the sandwich was hot and tasty!

Ingredients

• baguette (about 6 inches)
• pepper turkey (small handful of chipped deli turkey)
• portobello mushroom (1/2, washed & sliced)
• swiss cheese (1 large deli slice, ~1 oz)
• herbes de Provence (~1/4 dried – my blend contains thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, & basil)
• fresh basil (~5-6 medium leaves)
• butter (~1 tsp)
• white wine (~1 Tbsp Sauvignon Blanc)
• honey (~1 tsp)
• cayenne pepper (dash)
• nutmeg (dash)

How I made this delicious sandwich

1. Warm a pan with butter on medium heat.
2. As the butter melts and begins to bubble, add dried herbes de provence.
3. Add mushroom slices. Let cook until the bottoms start looking wet and then flip.
4. Add nutmeg & cayenne pepper. Continue cooking, stirring periodically.
5. Add pepper turkey and mix gently into mushroom mixture. Place swiss cheese on top.
6. Add white wine and honey.
7. Allow cheese to melt and liquids to bubble. The liquids in the pan will help prevent the cheese from sticking to the pan and browning, but it is fine if the cheese browns. Explore this flavor!
8. Cut baguette into sandwich size and slice lengthwise, but not quite all the way through to create a hinge.
9. Open hinged bread over hot ingredients in pan and use a spatula to help get contents into bread as you flip bread under. (If you’ve ever seen a proper Philly cheesesteak being made, it’s very much the same technique! )
10. I found it easier to pour the rest of the contents of the pan (both solid and liquid) into my sandwich. Be sure to balance the amount of moisture vs. bread so that you don’t end up with a soggy mess. (I actually squeezed my sandwich out a little immediately and then served it on a fresh dry plate!)
11. Tear basil into small pieces (or snip with kitchen sheers) onto the sandwich.
12. Close sandwich and enjoy!

My sandwich was very moist, but not soggy. I served it with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc because that’s what I had open, but I’m very curious about your suggestions. Because of the swiss cheese/honey and the heat from the black pepper/cayenne, I think this sandwich might work well with a Reisling or Gewurztraminer. You?

I love to cook and over the past year have had the opportunity to provide personalized cooking lessons. My style is very experimental and creative, relying on playfulness and an extensive background of exploring new foods and ingredients. I am always absorbing new information about how to combine flavors and love sharing what I discover.

Many people have encouraged me to share my recipes and even start a podcast to show people how easy it is to enjoy delicious homemade food. I hope you’ll enjoy the adventure as I include some of these ideas on my blog.