Baked apples are usually served up as dessert. In this savory twist, saged flavored chopped beef, seasoned onions, and rice are stuffed into baked apples.
This recipe takes a bit of time to make and has several steps but it’s worth it. The flesh you scoop out of the apples to hollow them end up in the filling, so nothing is wasted.
Next time I want to add some cheese to the recipe. If you want to try, shred some Emmentaler or Gruyere and stir it into the meat mixture right before stuffing it into the apples.
Fresh sage leaves are used to garnish the apples. You can also use fresh mint, marjoram or lemon balm leaves, whatever few ones you have on hand. The dish looks pretty without the garnish.
I love this recipe. It’s a great way to use this season’s fresh apples and it’s a stunner on your table.
Baked Apples Stuffed with Sage Beef & Rice
Ingredients
- 2 oz long grain rice
- 4 large apples
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1+3/4 cups cold water
- 3 sage leaves cut into small pieces plus 4 whole leaves for garnish
- 1+3/4 cups white wine
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pinch white granulated sugar
Instructions
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Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
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Peel the onion and dice into small pieces
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Cut the tops off of the apples and set aside.
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Use a melon baller or a teaspoon to cut out the cores of the apples and discard.
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Scoop out the flesh of the apples and cut the flesh into small pieces.
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Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until transparent.
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Stir in the meat and cook until browned.
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Add the water to the pan, then the apple pieces.
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Add the Worcestershire sauce, chili, mustard, and garlic powders and stir to combine everything.
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Cover the pan and let cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees C.
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Remove the meat mixture from the heat and stir in the rice. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the chopped sage leaves.
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Place the apples in a casserole dish or loaf pan.
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Fill the apples with the meat mixture. Replace the lids on the apples and pour the white wine over the apples.
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Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
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Remove the apples from the oven, plate and garnish each with a sage leaf and serve.
4 comments
When do you add the sugar?
Thanks for noticing this omission! Add the sugar at the end when seasoning the meat with salt and the pepper.
In the directions it states to add chili and mustard yet those are not list nor qualities in the ingredients list. So disappointed I didn't catch this earlier as I'm in the middle of making this for the first time. Trying to decide how much and in what form if any to add😣
Fixed in the recipe above. Thanks for your eagle eye, Anonymous!