Maple Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I've always liked Brussels sprouts, even as a little girl. But I think this recipe would win over even the the most strident anti-sprout-ite...

Bacon and maple syrup is a simply magical combination. And they both go beautifully with the sweet, homey flavor of Brussels sprouts. The bacon adds a rich, crispy saltiness and the maple syrup adds a smoky sweetness to these hearty little cabbages. The roasting also augments the natural sugars in these petits choux.

The hostess of the lovely Thanksgiving gathering we attended had asked us to bring Brussels sprouts again (last year I made this scrumptious version with a garlicky buttered breadcrumb topping) and I knew I wanted to do something involving bacon and maple syrup. I looked at a bunch of recipes and decided that this one from the Boston Globe looked perfect -- simple and delicious.

It turns out that they are even better than you might suspect. And pretty easy to make, too. In fact, they were so good (and so easy) that I made them for Christmas Eve dinner with my family along with baked Yukon Gold 'taters and a succulent glazed ham from cousin Norah's farm in Vermont. Not surprisingly, the sprouts were all eaten by meal's end.

Happy new year to you all. Hope it is a healthy, happy one.

-- print recipe --Maple Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 6-8 as a side dish

Ingredients

* 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, outer leaves removed (if they look like they need it) and halved
* 2 Tbsps olive oil
* 2 Tbsps pure maple syrup
* 3 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Have on hand a large rimmed baking sheet.

2. In a bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, maple syrup, bacon, salt, and pepper. Spread the mixture in a single layer on the baking sheet.

3. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning several times, or until the Brussels sprouts are tender and caramelized and the bacon is crisp and golden.

You might also like:

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic Parmesan Buttered Breadcrumb Topping
• Shoestring-style Brussels Sprouts With Mustard, Garlic & White Wine
• Maple Roasted Yams With Bacon & Beer

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Sunburst Spinach Salad To Brighten Dark Winter Days

I made this salad for myself and my hubby for lunch a few days ago. It seemed like a perfect antidote to the dwindling sunlight and colder temps as we enter the final days of the countdown to the heart of darkness (a.k.a. the winter equinox.)

I was feeling a little draggy after another night of not enough sleep so I decided to take a short hiatus from my usual lunchtime fare -- something bread-based, followed by cookies -- in favor of a fresher and lighter meal.

I love grated beet in salads - it's sweet and juicy and crunchy which is a pretty awesome combo. And the color is so bright and beautiful, too, especially paired with the orange of the shredded carrot and tangerine slices - hence the "sunburst" name.

I also love citrus fruit in salad - juicy, tart and sweet. And the toasted nuts are deliciously crunchy and rich. I really like the baby spinach as a base for this salad - very tender and flavorful. Although I admit that I am mostly focused on the flavor, it's an added bonus that all these things really good for you, too. Now that our older son goes to school a few mornings a week, winter tends to be one cold and stomach bug after the next so the more vitamin C and other immune system boosters we can get, the better.

I added some grain to give the salad a bit more substance. I used leftover couscous from a Moroccan themed potluck we hosted recently but you could use farro or quinoa or whatever you have on hand. I probably would have included some goat cheese but didn't have any in the house. Toss in a handful of currants, raisins or dried cherries, splash with a healthy dose of your favorite vinaigrette and you're in business. Eat well and stay well!

Sunburst Spinach Salad With Grated Beets, Toasted Pecans & Couscous
Amounts vary based on how much you want to make

Ingredients

* Baby spinach, washed and dried
* Beet, peeled and grated
* Carrot, peeled and grated
* Pecans or walnuts, toasted
* Dried currants, raisins, cherries or cranberries
* Tangerine or orange, peeled and sliced
* Vinaigrette (I used a simple balsamic one)
* Couscous, farro, or quinoa, cooked and cooled

Directions

Lay down a thick bed of baby spinach, top with couscous or other grain, layer on the grated carrot and beet, and top with the toasted nuts and sliced citrus. Drizzle with your favorite vinaigrette and dig in.

You might also like:

• Farro Salad With Roasted Delicata Squash, Spinach & Chèvre
• Frisee, Apple & Celeriac Salad With Citrus-Shallot Dressing & Goat Cheese
• Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad With Toasted Almonds & Pecorino Cheese
• Wilted Russian Kale Salad With Balsamic Vinegar & Orange Zest

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Five Kitchen Tools That Changed My Life

Sorry for the silence lately, life with a three and a half year-old and a three month-old means that I rarely have my hands free to cook, or to write. Our sweet little baby sleeps a lot, but only if you hold him. Once we can start putting him down to nap, I expect to start getting a lot more done!

In the meantime, I wanted to share this little round-up of the five kitchen tools and gadgets that have had the biggest impact on my culinary life in lieu of one of the super-detailed holiday gift guides I've written in years past (though I've included all the past ones at the end of this post in case you feel like browsing -- they're still good!) If someone you care about likes to cook or bake and does not yet have all of these things, they make great holiday gifts.

1. Microplane Zester - the perfect tool for grating cheese and spices, zesting citrus, shaving chocolate, and more. They're light and easy to wield and produce very fine shavings although there are various sizes of these should you prefer one that does coarser grating. And it's stocking-shaped, to boot. They cost between $8 and $20, in general. Read more about it in my Gifts from the Kitchen Gods post.

2. Mandoline
- this little tool takes all the tedium and inconsistency out of slicing. There are two kinds -- adjustable and fixed. The adjustable ones allow you to slice thick or thin or anywhere in between and often include attachments that let you julienne, shred, or crinkle cut but even the cheaper, non-adjustable kind is awesome - I actually have both and I mostly use the cheaper, non-adjustable one (shown below making quick work of some celeriac) because it is lighter and easier to handle. You can get a non-adjustable one for under $20 and the adjustable kind for roughly $35 and up, depending on the brand and attachments.

3. Silpat Baking Mat - every baker's best friend. I love making cookies and scones and free-form breads and even fruit leathers on this thing since it lets you bake without any fear of sticking whatsoever. It's also very easy to clean. Read more about it in my earlier post.

4. Kitchen Scale - cooking is really a science and a reliable kitchen scale that takes the guesswork out of amounts is a must for your baking and preserving experiments. I love my little OXO digital scale - it's small and simple and lets me know how many ounces of flour or tomatoes or strawberries or sugar or whatnot I am dealing with. At just $30, it's pretty affordable, too.

5. Immersion Blender - I've said it many times before but I'll just say it again... I think this is the single most useful kitchen gadget I own. This handy little wand blender allows you to puree sauces, soups, jams and more right in the pot or bowl without having to deal with pouring hot (or cold) liquids into a blender or food processor. And it makes the clean up wonderfully easy, too -- no need to mess with the Cuisinart's millions of hard to clean parts or cut your fingers dealing with the blade on your blender. Prices vary widely by brand with the cheapest coming in at under $20 and the priciest at around $200 but if my own experience is any guide, you probably don't need one of the expensive ones. Read more about it in my Gifts from the Kitchen Gods post.

You might also like:

• Yummy Holiday Gifts
• Green Gifts For Foodies
• Books You'll Want To Devour
• Gadgets, Gear & Gee-Gaws For Food-Lovers

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Turnip Puff With Buttered Breadcrumb Topping

Two weeks ago, the very last farmers market of the year happened to fall on the same day as our final CSA veggie pick-up. I was thinking of this double whammy as rather tragic until Hurricane Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy (it's bad enough that they use these uber-generic names, must they also remove any remaining shred of dignity by reclassifying them as something as supremely clinical-sounding as a "post-tropical cyclone"?!), descended last Sunday. But the losses and devastation Sandy left in her wake gave me an injection of fresh perspective -- while sigh-worthy, the lack of fresh veggies pales in comparison to losing a home, a car, or even just electricity for more than a couple of days. 

We were extremely fortunate -- barely even lost power and all the trees that might have fallen at our house had been taken down already. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for the millions who got walloped. 

Meanwhile, that final CSA box left us with five pounds of truly gorgeous scarlet turnips  that I was not sure what to do with... Scarlets are a mildly sweet variety of turnip that I'd never encountered before. So I turned to my favorite recipe resource, Food Blog Search and turned up this whimsically named recipe for a turnip "puff."

The ingredients looked appealing to me - I like the idea of adding brown sugar and nutmeg to play up the turnips' natural sweetness. And I certainly won't say no to anything that is topped with buttered breadcrumbs... It also looked pretty easy so I gave it a whirl.

I made a few small changes to Kitchen Parade's recipe, namely that I boiled the turnips with a potato since I'd read that this can help to remove any bitterness - then I mashed the potato along with the turnips (why not, right?) I also added a pinch of cinnamon and cloves to go along with the nutmeg. And after roughly mashing the turnips and potato, I added the rest of the ingredients and just used my immersion blender to blend it all together. The end result was nice - a hearty baked turnip mash that is mildly sweet and mildly spiced.

Turnip Puff (recipe via Kitchen Parade)
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 pounds purple-topped turnips (about 6 large) or rutabagas (about 1 large)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 cup panko or dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a medium sized pot of salted water to a boil. Peel the turnips or rutabagas and cut into roughly equal-size quarters and cook at a gentle boil until soft.

2. Mash the turnips or rutabagas in a large bowl - you can do this by hand, with an immersion blender or in a food processor. Add the eggs, butter, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper and nutmeg and combine well. Transfer to a buttered casserole dish.

3. Combine the crumbs and butter and sprinkle evenly on top and bake until lightly browned on top, about 35-40 minutes.

You might also like:

• Butter-Braised New Turnips
• Turnip Gratin
• Rumbledethumps - A Scottish Potato, Cabbage & Cheese Classic

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Baked Beets With Herbs & Butter

We got the most lovely bunch of purple beets at our last CSA pick up. I used a few by grating them raw into salads (yum!), then proceeded to ignore them in order to focus on some of the more time-sensitive veggies that needed to be dealt with quickly. Luckily, beets keep for quite a while in the fridge if you remove the greens and this batch seemed perfectly content to cool their heels in the crisper for nearly two weeks while I dealt with more pressing culinary concerns.

I typically roast beets - they're DELICIOUS that way - but I was not feeling excited about waiting quite that long for them to cook so I decided to try baking them, instead - something I'd never tried before. With baked beets, the cooking time is sped up by putting a small amount of water in the bottom of the baking dish to steam the beets while they cook. Then you slip the skins off just as you would with roasted or boiled beets. It's a bloody-looking business but it washes right off.

I was also attracted to the simple idea of tossing the warm beets with butter, herbs, salt, pepper and a little lemon juice. So I ran out to our little container garden and gathered up oregano, thyme and basil and chopped them up.

The results were both quicker and less messy than roasting and deliciously flavorful and light. The baked beets are a little bit softer than roasted and the fresh herbs complement their natural sweetness while the butter makes it feel just a wee bit decadent and the salt, pepper and lemon juice add a little brightness and jazz.

I served them with a thick cucumber yogurt sauce spiked with fresh mint (have I mentioned how much I LOVE whole milk Greek yogurt for this purpose?), grilled lamb sausages from our favorite butcher shop, and my own interpretation of one of those Near East boxed couscous mixes. I use this very tasty, fine whole wheat French couscous that we get in bulk at our local health food store, some sauteed red onion, a whole lotta chopped fresh herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper -- it's much better than the box.

The beets were at least as tasty the next day as leftovers, too. I will definitely be making these again.

Baked Beets With Herbs & Butter

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

* 1 large bunch of beets (any kind), washed with tops and tails removed

* 2 Tbsps butter (you could substitute olive or walnut oil if you do not eat dairy)

* Sea salt to taste

* Freshly ground pepper to taste

* Big handful of fresh herbs (thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, etc.,), washed, dried and chopped

* 1-2 tsps fresh lemon juice or mild vinegar like champagne or white balsamic

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish and add half a cup of water to the bottom. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven.

2. Bake for 30-45 minutes (cooking time will depend on the size of the beets you're using), until beets are soft when poked with a fork. Remove from the oven and let sit, uncovered until cool enough to handle. Slip the skins off and remove any roots or tough pieces left over from the tops with a knife, then slice to whatever thickness and shape you desire.

3. Toss with the herbs, butter, salt and pepper then sprinkle a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or vinegar of your choice. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve warm or room temperature.

You might also like:

• Winter Veggie Pie With Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese & Dill
• Pickled Beets With Cumin & Cloves
• Roasted Beets, Asparagus & Oven Fries With Lemon Aioli
• Creamy Beet Salad
• Cumin-Scented Quinoa With Grated Beets & Quick Curried Chickpeas

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Apple Chicken From The New Basics Cookbook

The Silver Palate was the first cookbook I ever bought for myself. I was living in Boston, stumbling through my first year out of college and feeling rather lost, in general, when I came across it in the Brookline Booksmith. My friend, Ali, who I'd lived with the previous three years at Wesleyan and who is both a great cook and the daughter of a great cook, had told me good things about it so I decided to splurge. At that point in my life, a $15 cookbook definitely counted as a splurge as I was positively raking in the cash at my $14 an hour research assistant job. And that was a big step up from my previous job where I'd made a whopping $11 an hour as a medical assistant in an OB/GYN office in order to see if nurse midwifery might be right for me.

I liked the book so much that, a few years later, after I'd ruled out both midwifery and research as careers, I bought Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins' much-expanded tome, The New Basics Cookbook. This chicken and apple dish was one of the first recipes I tried, drawn by its combination of caramelized onions, sweet apples, apple cider vinegar and cream. I've since made it many more times as I am a sucker for the combination of creamy, sweet, and piquant that it offers.

It's been several years since I've made it but I happily dusted it off last week after a field trip with my son's class to the Stone Ridge Orchard. It was a surprisingly glorious fall day that may be the last warm spell we get until 2013 or, maybe not, given the craziness of the weather nowadays.

The weather has since turned decidedly nippier -- it seems that real fall is upon us now. But the chilly air and  falling leaves are a perfect backdrop for a warm, hearty dish like this. I love the way that caramelizing the apples turns them wonderfully creamy and sweet.

It's easy to make and goes well with rice -- the lovely sauce needs something to soak it up. Try it with some cider-glazed delicata squash or baked sweet potatoes.

The slightly adapted recipe is below -- I've simplified it a tiny bit to make it less fussy and a little less time-consuming.

Apple Chicken  
Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 3 apples (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, or MacIntosh, or a combination)
* 1/2 lemon (optional - see step 1 below)
* 2 Tbsps unsalted butter
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 2 whole, boneless, skinless, organic chicken breasts (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream
* 1/4 cup chicken broth (I use my chicken "stock-sicles" for small amounts of broth like this)
* 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Core apples, peel them and cut them into 1/4 inch slices. Rub them with the lemon to prevent discoloration. (You can totally skip this step if you're in a hurry - I usually do!) Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute the apples over medium-low heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle them with sugar, raise the heat and cook over high-heat until lightly browned on all sides, shaking the pan constantly to prevent the apple slices from sticking. Set the apples aside.

2. Rinse the chicken well and pat it dry. Cut each chicken breast in half along the breastbone line. Flatten each breast half with a meat pounder until thin.

3. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Raise the heat, add the chicken, and cook until it is lightly colored, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

4. Add the onion to the skillet, cover and cook until it is tender and slightly caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to high, and add the vinegar. Cook the mixture down to a syrup, about 1 minute. Then whisk in the cream, stock and salt.

5. Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer gently in the sauce, basting often, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overcook.

6. Remove the chicken breasts with a slotted spoon, and arrange them on heated plates (15 min. in a 200 degree oven-but not absolutely necessary). Add the apple slices to the skillet; cook over high heat until the sauce has reduced and the apples are thoroughly heated, about 1 minute. Spoon the apples around the chicken and pour the sauce over it. Serve immediately.

You might also like:

• Chicken Vegetable Soup With Orzo
• Maple-Glazed Meatloaf With Rolled Oats & Fresh Thyme
• Easy Apple Cheddar Tart With Caramelized Onions & Toasted Pine Nuts

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

Baked Apples With Candied Ginger & Toasted Pecans

Baby James turned four weeks old yesterday. Things are going pretty well within the confines of caring for an infant who, like most babies, needs to eat every two hours, poops and spits up a lot, and sleeps only if you're holding him - put him down and he wakes up, it's his most consistent trick so far - and a three-year-old who is accustomed to having the full attention of two or more adults at all times and is not quite ready to give that lifestyle up in favor of a more self-sufficient one (can't say I blame him, really.)

Luckily, there are two of us (hats off to all the single parents out there - I do not know how you do it...) and we have a lot of help from family and friends which makes a huge difference.

Needless to say, my ability to cook is a tad limited at the moment, though, thankfully, I know that all this -- the sleeplessness, the never having more than one hand free, the tantrums, the constant nursing, the near-constant diaper changes and the daily loads of impossibly small, spit up and poop-covered garments and soiled burp cloths -- is temporary! This hard-won perspective does make the second child just a wee bit easier than the first when the future seemed to stretch out before me like a bleak, sleepless, crying-filled nightmare... I actually find myself enjoying the baby a lot of the time (when he's not crying.)

But my big brother and my two adorable nieces are in town for a little visit this week so I handed the baby off to his dad during our older son's nap in order to pull together a simple but tasty dinner of grilled cheeseburgers with avocado and tomato, the world's best oven fries, a green salad with dried cranberries and toasted pepitas, and even (gasp!) DESSERT.

I decided to make baked apples for three reasons: 1) They are yummy and comforting and warm, 2) It is apple season and the Hudson Valley is bursting with delicious, crisp, sweet-tart fruit, and, 3) Perhaps most importantly, they are amazingly easy to make.

I think baked apples are good pretty much any way but I included crystallized ginger to spice things up a bit (my husband loves ginger) along with some toasted pecans we had leftover from another meal.

The rest was easy - brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, butter, and some fresh apple cider that we got at a wonderful cider press party we'd gone to a few days earlier.

I mixed up the filling in a bowl.

Cored the apples, stopping an inch above the bottom to avoid going all the way through.

Then stuffed them, topped them with butter, arranged them in a baking dish so that none would tip over while baking, and poured some of the cider into the bottom. Topped it with foil and put it into the oven for a while.

My advice: Eat with ice cream. to let the wonderful syrupy, spiced cider mix with the melting vanilla - it makes a great companion to the soft, sweet, slightly tart flesh of the apple and the sugary, nutty, gingery filling. A delightful fall treat and so easy that even a sleep-deprived woman with a four-week-old baby and a three-year-old can make it to boot.

Baked Apples With Candied Ginger & Toasted Pecans
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 4 large, fresh baking apples (Rome, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold)
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/8 tsp ground cloves
* 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
* 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
* 2 Tbsps finely chopped crystallized ginger
* 1 Tbsp butter
* A pinch of salt
* 3/4 cup apple cider (or water if you don't have cider)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash your apples then remove their cores to about 1/2 inch above the bottom of the apple. I used an apple corer in combination with a small, sharp paring knife- it was kind of messy/clumsy but worked. You should have a hole roughly an inch wide that does not go all the way through the apple.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt and pecans. Place the apples in a small baking pan - you want one small enough to keep all the apples upright but not so small that they're crowded - they'll bake better if they're not touching. Stuff each apple with the filling mixture and top with a small pat of butter.

3. Add the cider (or water) to the baking dish and bake the apples for 30-40 minutes, taking them out several times to baste them with the cider in the bottom of the dish, until they are tender, but not mushy. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

You might also like:

• Apple Bundt Cake
• Apple Crisp
• Apple Pie

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.

Easy Apple Cheddar Tart With Caramelized Onions & Pine Nuts

Oh, hallo there, Fall. You bittersweet time of year with your clear blue skies, brisk breezes, dancing sunshine, leaves of crimson, amber, and gold. So beautiful, crisp and cozy and so undeniably the last gasp before Winter sets in... Have I mentioned that I do not care for the cold?

But you do bring the most delectable apples, and my feelings about them, at least, are entirely positive.

Here's a super simple, easy way of enjoying the season's apples that is a sure crowd pleaser and picky-eater teaser and looks really fancy and involved.

The secret is to use frozen puff pastry dough. Of course, you can make your own pastry dough if you've got time to kill and two hands free at the same time (not so here these days)and it's possible that it might taste even better but I can't offer you any guarantees on that.

I've had great results with DuFour's puff pastry. And apparently, it's some of the best money can buy... but I think it'd be tasty with any puff pastry -- there's a lot of butter in puff pastry so it is inherently yummy, no matter what brand you use. Just don't forget to leave time for it to defrost (a mistake I've definitely made...)

Use a crisp, sweet-tart apple - Macoun, Mutsu, Cortland, Northern Spy, Granny Smith - there are a million good varieties available at this time of year, at least there are here in New York, the apple bin of the country.

Do not skimp on the onions as they provide such delicious sweet flavor. And I am always amazed by the degree to which they reduce during the caramelization... Lotsa fresh herbs give it a pleasant hint of freshness amidst all that wonderfully melty cheese and buttery pastry.

Pine nuts provide some hearty crunch and a lovely toasted flavor while you chew. And salt and pepper do their part by bringing the whole flavor combo up yet another notch.

Enjoy!

Easy Apple Cheddar Tart With Caramelized Onions & Pine Nuts

Makes one tart

Ingredients

* 1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted

* 2 medium or 1 large apple, cored and sliced (not too thick - you want to avoid too much weight or liquid as it will make the pastry soggy)

* 2-3 branches fresh thyme, chopped

* Handful of fresh basil and/or oregano, chopped

* 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (you could also use goat or gruyère cheese)

* 1 large onion, sliced

* Extra-virgin olive oil

* Freshly ground black pepper

* Sea salt

* Handful of pine nuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. While you're waiting for the pastry to defrost, sautée the onions in a frying pan in olive oil until translucent.

2. Lay the sheet of puff pastry out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Prick the dough inside the border all over with the tines of a fork to prevent it from puffing up too much during baking.

3. Spread a layer of cheddar (or whichever cheese you choose) on the pastry. Top with the onions, then arrange the apple slices on the pastry in a single layer (crowding or overlapping them could make the puff pastry soggy). Scatter the fresh herbs and pine nuts over the apples. Drizzle the tart with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. If using gruyère, reserve a little cheese to sprinkle over the top.

4. Bake the tart until the pastry is crisp and deeply browned on the bottom and around the edges, 30-40 minutes. 

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer or 2-3 as a main course.

You might also like:

• Apple Crisp
• Tomato Tart, Two Ways
• Winter Veggie Pie With Roasted Beets & Goat Cheese
• Leek  & Goat Cheese Gallette

Want even more recipes, photos, giveaways, and food-related inspiration? "Like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.