Top Chef Canada: Taking The Challenge Home, Week Twelve

Dan    Season 2, Top Chef Canada: Taking The Challenge Home     apple, bacon, baking, CHARCUT, Dan Clapson, Food Network Canada, recipes, Top Chef Canada, Trevor Bird

Well, it is almost time for this season of Top Chef Canada to come to a close. Tonight, we all will find out if Trevor, Jonathan, or Carl will take home the title of ‘Canada’s Top Chef’. It’s been great watching these three skilled gentlemen show off their chops throughout the past 13 weeks, so, regardless of who wins, it will be well-deserved.

Yet again, I’ve found myself out of town during one of my weekly Top Chef Canada dish recreation challenges. I was lucky enough to head back to Vancouver this week to attend Trevor Bird’s restaurant opening bash for Fable Kitchen. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it was the name of his team’s one-day dining establishment during this season’s ‘Restaurant Wars’ episode.

When I popped by the event, I told Trevor I had to recreate his Apple Bacon Tart from the current episode. Not being much of a dessert-maker himself, he assured me that I would be fine baking his dish this week!

In addition to baking some apple bacon tarts this past weekend, I also signed on to cook a birthday dinner party for my friend Jillian. After coming up with a simple menu for her and some friends to enjoy, we decided that some Top Chef-inspired tarts would be the perfect way to end the evening, on a sweet note.

I’ve cooked many of my Top Chef Canada recreations for friends before, but making a dessert dish at a birthday dinner was definitely upping the ante. Jillian is not an easy lady to impress!

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Roasted Walnut Stuffed Apples

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     appetizer, apple, dinner, side, vegan

What you’ll need…

4 golden delicious apples

1 cup walnuts crushed

1 zucchini squash

1 yellow onion

1 TSP thyme

1 TSP cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

I love apples! Breakfast, lunch, & dinner, but especially at dinner lately, or so it seems! This is a great side dish if you’re looking to really impress a vegan guest, or if you just want to show someone that apples aren’t only for pies!

Start by dicing the onion, garlic, and zucchini, then set aside.

Now core and then halve the apples. Gently spoon out the apple flesh until just a thin layer of flesh remains, you want it to look like an apple ‘bowl’ when you’re done scooping! When all your apple ‘bowls’ are complete place them on a baking tray, and put aside for the moment. Preheat the oven to a low broil.

On medium-high heat add the olive oil to a large pan, adding in the onions & garlic. Once the onions soften add in the flesh from the apples that you scooped out as well as the zucchini, walnuts, thyme, cinnamon, and salt & pepper to taste. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes so some of the liquid evaporates and the flavours concentrate.

Carefully spoon stuffing into each of the apple halves, over-stuffing is welcomed at this stage! Once all 8 apple ‘bowls’ are nice & full sprinkle some brown sugar on top of each and pop into your preheated oven. Let them broil for about 15-20 minutes. Serve them nice & hot!

Serves 6-8

Total cook time…40 min