This Brussels sprouts pumpkin and apple hash is bursting with fall flavor. It’s the perfect side or serve it up as a meal with an egg on top!
I used to get occasional insomnia in high school and college.
It would come randomly in bursts but once it hit me, it’d get me good for a few days.
It’s like the second you can’t sleep all you can think about is how you can’t sleep, how many hours of sleep you’d get if you fell asleep RIGHT then and the mental math would continue every 15 minutes as you checked the clock until you worked yourself up into a full on panic and then finally fall asleep right as the sun was rising for a solid 2 hour snooze.
Rinse and repeat the next day.
That’s exactly how I feel right now with writer’s block.
It hit me about a week ago and I’ve literally sat here with the screen open for at least an hour on every single post since, willing the words to come to me.
They’re not.
Funny enough, I’ve been going back through old posts, a handful a day or so, doing some minor edits, deleting smiley faces (cringe, I can’t believe how many I used), making sure links work, etc. and of course reading whatever nonsense I wrote that day.
And just like the sleep thing, reading old stuff is just making me fixate on how my brain is refusing to cooperate when it comes to new content and exacerbating the situation.
So I’m hoping this little bout of mental blankness leaves soon but until then, let’s just talk about the recipe.
This hash (or saute, or salad, or pile of yum, I couldn’t decide what to call it) is pretty much fall on a plate.
For once, I actually bought a real pumpkin to cook with (instead of a can of puree for twice the price) and decided it needed to be all chopped up and acquainted with some Brussels sprouts, apples, cranberries and sage. These are its people.
It can be a side dish, a main course (add some sausage or an egg on top) or, just eaten as is.
The earthy vegetable taste of the Brussels sprouts is offset by the sweetness of the pumpkin. The apples are a combination of tart and sweet. The bacon adds some salt. And the whole thing is tossed in tangy balsamic rice vinegar and topped with fresh sage.
Now if only it had writer’s block curing abilities, I’d call it the perfect dish.
Brussels Sprouts Pumpkin and Apple Hash
Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 2 cups chopped pumpkin, or butternut squash
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, ends chopped and outer leaves removed, sliced
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups chopped apples
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped sage
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Nakano balsamic blend seasoned rice vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place bacon in the skillet and cook until crispy, set aside leaving grease in the pan.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bacon grease and add the shallot to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the brussels sprouts and pumpkin, season with salt and pepper, stir and let cook for 7-10 minutes until softened and starting to brown on the bottom. Toss and cook another 3 minutes.
- Add the apples, cranberries and sage, mix and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, add the vinegar and toss to combine.
- Crumble the cooked bacon on top and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Brussels sprouts recipes to try:
Creamy Garlic Brussels Sprout Soup
Maple Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
Cheddar Dutch Baby with Bacon and Brussels Sprouts
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Fruit Salad
Crispy Shallot Brussels Sprouts
Other Nakano recipes:
Cilantro mango wild rice salad
Sea salt and vinegar beet chips
Grilled scallop citrus ceviche
Spicy rosemary tomato peach chutney
Turkey and sage stuffed apples
*This post is sponsored by Nakano as part of my ongoing brand ambassadorship with them. All opinions, content and photography are my own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
That NAKANO blend sounds amazing. I am going to be scouring my grocery store looking for some!
Oh, man! I have had writer’s block this week too! I sat in front of my last post for two days trying to write something about the recipe. haha Well, this looks absolutely fantastic. I’m becoming more fond of Brussels sprouts all the time. This might just have to be on my Thanksgiving menu. :)
Basically every ingredient in this hash looks like it would go perfectly together!
This looks fantastic! I love the combination of flavors you have going in this hash, salad, whateveryoucallit… :-)
Love this Gina – looks super comforting an delicious!
I get writers block too – and sometimes after posting, I think … would readers actually care about that babble you just produced?? sometimes, I go back and edit … other times, not so much. It’s all a process I suppose.
Great recipe though — it sounds delicious!!
Thank you for the nice recipe
I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, but this looks so, so good. I can’t tell you how great it feels to be excited about eating something again. Thank you!
I totally get the writers block issues. I feel like I have been super random in my writing lately. There is not a lot of witty writing getting done. However, if I had a big plate of this deliciousness sitting in front of me I might be okay. Love the combo of brussels sprouts, pumpkin and apple. I would happily eat this plain or with the addition of a fried egg…yum!
This looks so delicious and the perfect Holiday side dish. Sorry about the writers block. It’s frustrating. And as someone who hasn’t had a good night sleep in 20 years (insomnia is the worst!) I totally know what you are talking about. Ugh. Oh well. Less sleep = more time to eat!