A Recipe or Tree: Fruit Tree Recipes

As summer days fade to fall, harvest time is upon us. In the garden, people are busily plucking tomatoes from vines, pulling beets from the ground and cutting corn free from its stalks. It is a wonderful time of bounty, but that is not restricted to just the garden plot.

If you look to the trees, there are plenty of wonderful things to harvest among their branches as well. Apples, peaches, pears and plums are all coming ripe in Ontario this time of year. Don’t forget the sour cherries and nectarines. Plus, walnuts, hazelnuts, heartnuts and chestnuts will be ready before you know it! In fact, maybe we’ll feature some of these yummy nuts later in the fall, but right now I have my sights set on the fruit trees that are laden down with produce.

Thinking about all the wonderful treats available from trees makes me hungry! Does anyone have any good fruit tree recipes to share? Check out some of these;

A RECIPE OR TREE: Fruit Tree Recipes

For starters, here’s the all-American apple tree presented with a new twist from Allrecipes;

APPLE And FETA PAN FRIED PIZZAS

Ingredients:

• • 6 1/2 ounces dry pizza crust mix
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • 4 apples, cored and chopped
  • ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine contents of the pizza dough package and 1/2 cup hot water. Stir vigorously, about 25 strokes. Set the bowl in a warm place (about 85 degrees F, or 35 degrees C) for 5 minutes. Turn dough onto floured board, divide the dough into 8 small sections. Knead the dough and shape it into rounds.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the dough and fry until the dough is lightly browned, flipping once to brown on both sides. Once cooked, place the circles on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the feta, red onion, and thyme on top of the circles.

Bake the pizzas until the feta begins to brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.

While the pizzas bake, in the previously used skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a few sprigs of thyme. Mix the apples into the skillet, and cook until the apples are soft and golden. Lay the apples on top of the pizzas, season with pepper, and serve.

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Everyone loves a sweet juicy peach, but kick it up a notch (compliments of recipe from Simply Recipes) in;

PEACH SALSA

AIR-DRIED BISON With ROASTED BEET And PEAR SALAD

*Air-dried bison is a specialty product you can replace with air-dried beef, a Swiss item known as bundenfleisch. In a pinch, prosciutto provides a nice cured flavour.

Ingredients:

Pears (Photo credit: quisnovus)

• • 4 beets
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) minced shallots
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
  • 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
  • 3 cups (750 mL) torn mixed salad greens
  • 2 ripe pears
  • 8 slices air-dried bison

Directions: