Honeycrisp Salad with Crispy Sage and Maple Vinaigrette.
I swear this isn’t the most boring salad that it appears to be.
I swear!
I know. I get it. It looks SO BORING.
But being the person that is in full blown honeycrisp apple obsession mode – which I just found out… are apparently early season apples only?! ugh – this salad is the simplest but most delicious thing ever.
Not really sure I can even full explain how much fruit I have eaten over the last few months with one of the biggest offenders being apples. It’s no secret that I’ve adored apples covered in peanut butter or apples with a few almonds and some dark chocolate (best pick me up snack ever) or apples even just sprinkled with cinnamon… or… or…
Wait. I’m about to tell you something.
My current apple infatuation just miiiiiight have spilled over into the 90s quaker instant oatmeal apples and cinnamon packets.
Maybe. Might have. You will never know.
This boring salad has some ridic flavor though.
It kinda reminds me of this chickpea salad. Not that they have anything in common, besides my utter embarrassment at sharing such simplicity. It’s recipes like this that I LOVE to share once I get over the ease – the ones that can be made in minutes, the ones that end up being fairly filling and the ones that have so much more flavor that you’d ever expect.
So get this:
sage fried in brown butter
honeycrisp apples and FETA! (best combo ever)
a maple dressing with a touch of heat.
And you know what? I don’t even love maple stuff. Not even with bacon.
Speaking of bacon, you can definitely add a crumbled bit to this salad. You could also drizzle the extra sage-y brown butter over your greens… you know… just a suggestion. Or you can whisk it into your maple vinaigrette which is also a fabulous idea.
And it’s salad. It’s healthy. It’s greens. Roughage, if you will. Errrr. I’ll just eat my salad and shut up.
Honeycrisp Salad with Crispy Sage and Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 fresh sage leaves
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 cups baby romaine or spring greens
- 2 honeycrisp apples, sliced
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once it’s melted and starts to sizzle, add the sage leaves and cook until slightly golden on each side, about a minute per side. Remove the leaves and place them on a paper towel to drain.
- Toss the greens, apples and feta together in a large bowl. I don’t slice the apples until right before serving – this way they won’t brown and the salad only takes seconds to put together.
- To make the dressing, add the vinegar, syrup, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper and pepper flakes to a bowl or a mason jar and whisk to mix. Slowly stream in the olive oil while mixing, or add it to the jar and shake the dressing for 15 seconds.
- Season the salad with salt and pepper and dress it before serving.
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honeycrisps for liiiiiiiife.
61 Comments on “Honeycrisp Salad with Crispy Sage and Maple Vinaigrette.”
I’m loving honeycrisps right now too! I put them on my lunch salad yesterday and they were so good! But don’t worry…They seem to last through November at Whole Foods! Better than when they first made their debut and only lasted a few weeks.
ᴍʏ ʀᴏᴏᴍᴀᴛᴇ’s ᴍᴏᴍ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs $63 ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ʜᴏᴜʀ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴇᴛ . Sʜᴇ ʜᴀs ʙᴇᴇɴ ʟᴀɪᴅ ᴏғғ ғᴏʀ ғɪᴠᴇ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜs ʙᴜᴛ ʟᴀsᴛ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴡᴀs $21457 ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴇᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ʜᴏᴜʀs.
Lᴇᴀʀɴ Mᴏʀᴇ Hᴇʀᴇ•••••••••••••••••••••> ᵂᵂᵂ.ᵂᴼᴿᴷ-ᵂᴵᴷᴵ.ᶜᴼᴹ
I have never had a honey crisp. This salad looks fantastic. A mush try for sure!
I also cannot get enough fruit lately, and apples are always at the top of my list! And listen, never apologize for sharing easy dishes…you could put sage butter/fried sage leaves on a leather boot and I’d be excited about it! Love the combo of flavors you have going on here. YUM.
I don’t think this salad looks boring; I think it looks GLORIOUS! I’ve been eating an obscene amount of apples with peanut butter lately and now I’m seriously craving this salad!
So, I had heard about honey crisps for years – the whole time, I’m all BFD – until I (finally) tried one last year.
Now, I 100%, wholeheartedly get it.
Apples, feta, browned butter, we’re off to an amazing start right there and then the Maple Vinaigrette…yes! Sounds fabulous!
Honeycrisps are the best! This salad has everything!
Every year I balk at the $4.50/lb. price tag for honeycrisps, but I end up paying for it anyway because they are just so. darn. good. The season is short, so I have to just suck it up buttercup if I want to enjoy the best apple ever. This salad is full of lovely fall things… looks delicious!
That’s it! I’m going apple picking this week! Nothing like fresh picked apples!
You can not go wrong when you have butter in salad!
For the vinaigrette, how much Apple cider vinegar do you use? It just lists 2, but not tablespoon or teaspoon. Thanks!
oops sorry! 2 tablespoons.
That was my assumption! I will be making this over the weekend with some salmon on it because my main man can’t eat a meal without some sort of meat protein.
This salad is beautiful. I love love love fried sage. Sometimes I put it on sandwiches. But never thought to put it on a salad (duh Liz). Can’t wait to try this out, Jessica!
What do you mean boring? It’s everything I like, thank you x
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This looks fan-stinking-tastic … I love feta on salads!!
Anthro plate spotting!! Love the salad too. Especially that last shot. Looks so rustic and tasty. Like a pile of autumnal leaves that I just want to dive into.
Wow, the brown butter sage thing, amazing!
Just wait until you’re in Washington in a few weeks at the height of Honeycrisp season!
Neat! Loving all the fun flavours in this!
OMG…if the honeycrisps ever last long enough on my counter, this salad is totally happening!
Honey crisp apples are my favorite apple! This salad looks so delicious!
This looks DELICIOUS! Apparently I’ve had your cookbook on my mind because I had to stop myself from typing “this looks seriously delish” haha!
I second what Sarah says! You must try lots of apples when you come to Book Larder in Seattle! Washington apples are BEYOND. I could write poems about them.
OMG I do love honeycrisp… they are just so expensive :( I still buy them but I cringe at the receipt every time. They are THE best apple though, never thought to put them in a salad! Awesome! “note to self – make salad with honeycrisp*
As a Canadian, I am offended by your lack of love of maple… ;)
Can’t wait to try this… sounds absolutely scrumptious! I’m hoping to do some apple picking this weekend and honey crisps are always my preference so PERFECT timing for this recipe.
I’m all about this! the honeycrisps, sage, and of course feta. sounds like a lovely fall salad to me.
This doesn’t look boring at ALL to me! I want some of it right now.
That SO doesn’t look boring. I can almost SMELL it. YUM.
I’m singing and dancing…..”I got my signed book sticker today!”
I can’t even believe how good this salad looks!
Woah! I love honey crisp apples and this looks like the perfect fall salad.
Ah that is totally not boring! Loving that crispy sage, such a perfect fall flavor :)
“serves 2 appropriately, 1 obnoxiously” LOVE IT!!!!
Can’t wait to try…we missed picking Honeycrisp last weekend; they were picked out like 2 minutes after the orchard opened…gonna have to pay an arm and leg at the market :P Going to try for some Northern Spy this weekend :)
Thanks for sharing easy and delicious!!
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oh em gee, there is nothing more uncomfortable than an ugly cry face!
I don’t watch football…but I will if it means I get to sit next to a plate of these bad boys! Yum!!
Holy cow, that looks fabulous. I think I have just discovered my lunch!
Philly
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This looks divine! Very similar to a salad we are going to have our our wedding!
OMGeeee this sounds sooo good, I LOOOOVE honeycrisp apples and I have some save to use ;)
I made this last night. I cannot emphasize enough how good this was. I wanted another bowl of it for dessert. I wanted a bowl of it for breakfast. I am sad i have lunch plans because I would have packed a bowl of it for lunch today. I used spinach and it was so good. SO GOOD. Make it. Trust!
(Side bonus- i had steamed/grilled artichokes for dinner and we used the leftover brown butter from the sage to dip the artichokes in- DOUBLE BONUS!!!)
Thank you Jessica for another amazing recipe.
OMG…down here in Florida I’m feeling a little desperate for Fall so had to make this right away! So. dang. good! I added some candied pecans for a little extra sweet. this salad was amazing! Thanks!
I cannot even begin to tell you how inspiring you are to me Jessica (are we on a first name basis??) The recipes you come up with never cease to amaze me. Keep up the good work lady!
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OK, I have made this 4 times already, just with blue cheese instead of feta. It is SO delicious. The fried sage is genius. Adds so much great flavor. Thanks for the recipe – we have salads as a side with dinner so often and we tend to get in a rut. I love finding easy ways to change it up a bit!
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LOVED this salad – perfect for fall! Everything was fantastic. The only thing I’d add is more fried sage leaves (20?) and some toasted walnut.
Honeycrisps are my life. And there is a restaurant in town that serves a salad with maple vinaigrette and i’m obsessed. Must make ASAP.
I’ve been obsessed with salads for lunch lately and this looks perfect! I love sage! I just found another apple that I may like just as much as honeycrisp if that’s even possible. SweetTango and I have a bazzilion to use up so I may use them for this salad!
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Big Honeycrisp fan! I didn’t know they were only early-season, I guess that is why I remember them being harder to find!
I just tried this recipe and it was DELICIOUS. Unfortunately, I had to substitute the fresh sage but it was still incredible—I wish I used my serves 2 appropriately to serve 1 obnoxiously instead. Big thanks for sharing! xx
—Rebecca
wanderdust.co
You totally have to try Jazz apples…best apple eveeeer! I made sangria with them and kept picking them out…I was wondering if they were just super delicious because they were soaked in alcohol? or were they just THAT good?! yeah…they’re that good….I’ve become an apple-a-day-er. I buy them by the bag full at the supermarket. Everyone I work with has tried them too since I can’t stop talking about them and they’re hooked as well….