Let me start by saying, my family is kind of into apples. There is rarely a time I go to the grocery store and don't have to replenish our stash of this amazing superfruit. It's so nice to have a snack everyone loves, is low in calories and full of vitamin C. A perfect in-between meals nibble as far as I'm concerned.
Because of this "apple love" we have going on, I was excited when SweeTango contacted me and asked if I would be interested in trying their apples. Honestly I had never heard of the SweeTango variety and was curious to taste it. That same day I was at the market and what did you know, SweeTango apples were available in my grocery store. How could I have missed these large and beautifully colored apples. Needless to say, I grabbed a bunch and went home to enjoy them.
SweeTango apples are a cross between the Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties. It is a crisp, juicy, vibrant apple with a taste all its own. For me, it has the perfect snap when bitten and my whole family loved them. They even abandoned their old-standbys to enjoy this new-to-them apple.
Saddest part, SweeTango apples are only available for a short time each season, late Summer through Fall. This means you need to seek out this wonderful apple in your grocery stores now!
I promise you will be delighted with its flavor and crunch.
Lucky for me SweeTango sent me a whole case of apples to try out with some of their recipes. This Sweet Potato and SweeTango Apple Soup was one of my absolute favorites. It was created by Chefs Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo of Animal Restaurant in Los Angeles to show off the SweeTango apple variety. I can't even tell you how good it is!
In general I love Fall inspired soups, but this really hit the spot. It's sweet and savory, the perfect side or can easily be made into a full meal with some crusty bread and salad.
Sweet Potato and SweeTango Apple Soup
Recipe from: Chefs Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo, Animal Restaurant | Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb butter
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup SweeTango apple, peeled, cored, diced
- 1 cup butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced
- 1 cup sweet potato, peeled, diced
- 2-1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- salt to taste and espelette pepper or regular pepper
Directions:
- In a one gallon pot, melt butter and sweat vegetables until onions are translucent. Add stock and cook for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Puree in a blender, strain and add cream and maple syrup. Season to taste, serve and enjoy. I also garnished with some extra pepper and fresh chives from the garden.
Cathy runs her own vineyard and winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. She is a food writer forDavis Life Magazine and blogs daily about wine, food and everydayliving. She lives with her husbandand two sons. You can visit her at noblepig.com.