One thing made me light up when I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters opening weekend. It was not what you'd expect. If you guessed Miles from LOST, you're close. It was a split second, you could almost miss it if you were glued to the characters' conversation. In Maz Kanata's tavern, Rey is eating an apple. Not just any apple, it's hollowed out like a cup and stuffed with romanesco broccoli!
I want to high five whoever came up with that, because it's so cute and delicious. Romanesco is indeed a real vegetable you can buy and is typically available during the fall. Since the beginning of our Brooklyn winter was so warm, you might be lucky to find some still. Geek out and re-enact the scene with your own apple! Here's how.
| What you'll need | |
| 1 Fuji apple 2 tablespoons Alon Shaya's whipped cheese (or substitute yogurt or mascarpone) |
Variety of steamed vegetables (pictured are celeriac, Inca Gold potato and carrot) 2 florets of romanesco for every apple 1 lemon, juiced Pea shoot or any fresh green, washed |
If you haven't steamed your vegetables, I suggest you do that for 10 minutes or less. I like my veg barely steamed, still kinda crunchy. You can also use fresh vegetables, if you like crunchy, have your crunchy.
There are probably better ways to manage the apple (and I'm happy to hear how you do it...) but I halved it horizontally and used the toothy part of my spiralizer to gouge a disc in to the core. It didn't work very well and the apple cup was shallow but it was enough depth to hold things! I threw that apple half into a tub of water with lemon juice so it didn't turn brown.
While the apples soaked, I whipped up the cheese mix. You can substitute any neutral creamy cheese, as long as it isn't too sweet.
Dry off the apples and assemble! Start each apple cup with a dollop of cheese and then layer on your vegetables. You can prep these up ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for a couple of hours. Check out my timelapse on Instagram.
I love how fresh this tastes. Sweet apple, creamy cheese and clean market vegetables make for a great snack.
Don't worry, knowing about the apple isn't going to spoil it for you!
It's also way after the release date, so if you haven't seen the movie yet...the internet is a landmine.