Sausage-Stuffed Baked Apples Recipe

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Sweet baked apples. Savory sausage stuffing inside. A festive, flavorful side dish that will steal the show.

SERVINGS
12
PREP TIME
55 min
COOK TIME
30 min

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. Coleman mild sweet Italian ground pork sausage
  • 2 ciabatta rolls, about 3 ounces each
  • 4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, divided
  • 1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
  • 1 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1 lemon
  • 6 small gala apples (less than 2 and 1/2 inch in diameter)
  • 1-3 Tbsp. milk or broth (optional)
  • 2 tsp. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and spread it out. Cook 3 minutes without stirring, then flip and break into crumbles. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, until no longer pink. Remove from heat.
  2. Cut ciabatta into ½-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Thinly slice the fontina and cut slices into ½-inch pieces. Add fontina to the bowl along with 2 teaspoons of the rosemary, the fennel seed, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the cooked sausage. Stir.
  3. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  4. Zest and juice the lemon and mix the zest and juice together along with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
  5. Halve the apples lengthwise. Use a melon baller to scoop out cores and some flesh, leaving ½ inch around sides and bottom. Brush cut surfaces and hollows with the lemon mixture, just to lightly dampen them. Discard the leftover lemon mixture or save for a different use. Place apples cut-side up in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
  6. Stir the sausage mixture. Test the moisture by squeezing a handful in your palm. If it holds together, it’s ready. If not, add 1 to 3 tablespoons milk or broth, stirring after adding each tablespoon, until mixture holds its shape.
  7. Firmly pack stuffing into a ¼-cup measure. Invert onto your palm and squeeze, and then press it onto the hollow of an apple half. It will be a mound that fills the hollow and also tops the rest of the surface. Repeat with remaining apples.
  8. Bake until apples are fork tender and stuffing is lightly browned on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Warm up the honey in a small microwave-safe bowl for 10 seconds. Drizzle over apples, then sprinkle with kosher salt and the remaining 2 teaspoons rosemary.

Find this recipe at:

https://colemannatural.com/kitchen/sausage-stuffed-baked-apples-recipe/