This apple carpaccio is a great choice if you're looking for a lighter Christmas dessert. Fruity and refreshing, it looks attractive too! It also makes a great fruity breakfast.
This beautiful raw apple carpaccio is certainly a healthy dessert choice. When I think of apple desserts, I normally think of pies, sponge puddings and crumbles. I don't very often make desserts with raw apple. I have to say, I normally prefer cooked apple. However, with the pomegranate seeds, crunchy sweet pine nuts and the yogurt, I was completely taken with this fruity carpaccio!
The inspiration for this apple carpaccio
The recipe for the apple carpaccio is slightly adapted from Jamie Oliver's Christmas Cookbook
Did I say candied pine nuts? Yes, I love nuts and do occasionally make candied or honey roast nuts but I'd never thought to make candied pine nuts before. In fact, I normally think of pine nuts as being an ingredient for savoury recipes not for desserts. That is definitely something that's going to change from now on, especially as they go so well with the raw apple in this dessert.
However, it is very difficult to get the candied pine nuts right. They go from being not cooked at all to burning in a matter of seconds. Or at least that's how it seemed to me. Whatever you do, don't get distracted while they are in the oven!
Ingredients for apple carpaccio
To make this simple apple carpaccio you'll need:
- Pine nuts
- Icing sugar
- Greek yogurt - I use plain yogurt but you could use coconut yogurt. To make it vegan, you can use a vegan yogurt too.
- Pomegranate
- Clementines - You could use a different citrus fruit.
- Sweet apples
- Fresh mint
- Honey
How do you get really thin apple slices?
I used a spiralizer
When to serve this apple carpaccio
This thinly sliced apple recipe is great as a healthy dinner party dessert option. No one wants to spend all their time in the kitchen when they've got guests and with this apple carpaccio, as long as all the components are prepared in advance, it's very quick to assemble. What more could you ask from an easy healthy dessert that tastes delicious too?
You could also serve this fruity carpaccio at breakfast time. It would be perfect on a special day such as Christmas day. Or how about making it to start the year with and having it for breakfast on New Year's Day? It would be the perfect healthy way to start the year, especially if you are making any healthy new year resolutions! Another healthy new year's day breakfast idea would be this pomegranate yogurt fool.
Can you adapt this apple carpaccio?
You could change this dessert a little to suit your tastes. If you don't fancy apple then why not swap it for pear, or even pineapple?
The pomegranate seeds are delicious and perfect for Christmas but you could use berries instead.
As I mentioned earlier, if you don't have pine nuts then you could use a different kind of nut or seed instead.
You could also use lemons, limes or oranges instead of the clementines.
Can you make this apple carpaccio a bit more decadent?
So, what if you're saying but it's Christmas and I want to indulge a little? Well, if you do have a little whipped cream or even vanilla ice cream then you could swap that for the yogurt! I won't tell anyone. But, I will say that this healthy dessert is delicious with yogurt and that is definitely my choice!
Recipe
Apple Carpaccio
Ingredients
- 30 g pine nuts
- ½ tablespoon icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 1 pomegranate
- 3 clementines
- 2 sweet apples
- A few sprigs of mint
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Rinse the pine nuts in cold water then spread them out on a baking tray. Sprinkle with the icing sugar. Bake in the oven at 180C for 5 minutes. Check how they are doing - they might need just a little longer. If the ones at the edges are brown but not the ones in the middle then stir them around a little.
- Crush about half in a pestle and mortar and stir them into the yoghurt.
- Remove the seeds from one half of the pomegranate and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the seeds in the other half by pressing the pomegranate half into a sieve above a bowl. Use a spoon to crush the seeds that fall out against the bottom of the sieve. Squeeze the clementines above the sieve too so you catch any seeds.
- Slice the apples either with a spiralizer, mandolin or just a knife and put the apple into the clementine and pomegranate juice until ready to serve.
- Arrange the apple on a plate, top with a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkle with some of the pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and mint leaves. Drizzle with a little yoghurt.
Notes
Nutrition
More Fruity Recipes
If you like this fruity recipe then do check out one of my other recipes that uses fruit:
Keep in touch
Do let me know if you make this apple carpaccio. I love to get feedback from readers.
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theeconomicfoodie
Yum sounds really refreshing!!! Absolutely love pomegranates at the moment!
Corina
Thanks! It was a lovely change from all the richness of the other Christmas desserts!
Patricia
It looks really delicious I have to give it a go sometime!
Corina
I do hope you enjoy it! Please let me know and happy new year!
Zoe
This looks so yum 🙂 Must give it a try!
Corina
Thanks Zoe! I hope you enjoy it - It's really light and fresh but still sweet.
gingeredwhisk
How creative!! This would be such a great holiday treat!
Corina
Thanks!
April
How pretty! Sounds delicious! I love lighter healthier Christmas desserts.
Corina
Thanks! It's certainly a change from a lot of the heavier Christmas desserts you get and often I'm craving healthy food soon after Christmas as an antidote to all the heavier desserts!
michelleferrand
Wonderful! Yogurt and apples together is one of my favorite combos!
Corina
They are definitely good together here! So pleased you like it.
kirsty Hijacked by Twins
Ooooh yes please this looks and sounds so good! I love how I could adapt it to make it all free food for my diet too. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Corina
Hope you enjoy it!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
That looks so gorgeous Corina, and as you say pomegranate is so inviting. I have to admit that I've never tried candied pine nuts, 'll certainly have to remedy that 🙂
Corina
Yes, you need to try them! They are gorgeous!
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed
What a refreshing change to see a light and healthy dessert, it looks delicious Corina. I love the idea of candied pine nuts. x
Corina
Thanks Sarah! I love all types of nuts and seeds and it was lovely to make candied pinenuts for a change rather than the cashew nuts and pecans I tend to make more often x
shaheen
Ah what a great way to people who don't eat much fruit to eat fruit. Like it.
Corina
Definitely! I eat fruit but don't eat many apples and I definitely enjoyed them more in this than I would just eating an apple by itself!
Farrah
This dessert looks festive and tasty! Apples are definitely one of my favorite fruits and I still happen to have some pomegranate seeds! 😀 Super excited to try this!
Corina
Thanks Farrah! Hope you enjoy it!
Kimberly Vargo
This would make the perfect snack. It looks delicious and easy to make.
Corina
Thanks Kimberly! I'm happily snacking on it here!
Gloria Duggan
I have never heard of this before. Apples and pomegranates go so well together. Sounds and looks delicious.
Corina
Thanks Gloria! I don't think I'd heard of it till recently but I've now seen a few variations!
Mandy Mazliah
This looks delicious. I love pine nuts in sweet dishes. Have had some gorgeous pine nut cakes in Spain. Yum!
Corina
I can imagine you can get lovely cakes with pine nuts in in Spain now you mention it. We might be going new year so I'll have to look out for pine nut cakes!
Eb Gargano / easypeasyfoodie.com
Oh that does look lovely and so perfect for a lighter (and healthier) alternative to Christmas pudding!! Eb x
Corina
Thanks Eb! This is a really tasty desert but still feels a little decadent from those toasted pine nuts!
Cliona Keane
That looks epic! I'm seriously trying to stay healthy this Christmas so this is definitely going on the list! #CookBlogShare
Corina
Thanks Clina! It's a great choice for a healthy dessert - hope you enjoy it.
jacdotbee
That looks so pretty and the caramelised pine nuts sound intriguing and yummy!
Corina
Oh those pine nuts were so yummy! I ate far more than I should have done!
gingeybiteseats
Very pretty and a light end to what is always a heavy meal!
Corina
I know! I do really have a weakness for heavy puddings but this is lovely too
dpcamp
A Christmas dessert that I wont feel guilty about?! SWEET!!
Corina
Exactly!
[email protected] a Dash of Cinnamon
Oh this is so interesting! Looks so easy too. Major win.
Corina
Thanks! It's one of those recipes that is mainly just assembling everything. The only thing you need to cook is the pine nuts!
Queen of My Kitchen
How wonderfully inventive! And beautiful too. Happy Thanksgiving!
Corina
Thank you!
Nico @ yumsome
What a great idea for a light dessert - I love it! And I so happen to have just bought 3 kilos of apples at the market! Yummy!
Corina
Wow! What a lot of apples. Hope you enjoy this if you get chance to try it.
Gloria Viganò
Looks incredibly fresh as well tasty! I will replicate at home! Thanks for sharing!
Wish you a lovely week!
Gloria (Warm Cocotte)
Corina
Thanks Gloria - I hope you enjoy it!
Cara
Delicious! I will definitely be trying this dessert - it's lightened up enough to eat more often than just the holidays!
Corina
Indeed! I hope you enjoy it.
choclette
Ooh candied pine nuts? I really want to try some now. This dessert is such a lovely idea and it looks really pretty too.
Corina
Thanks Chocolette. Those pine nuts were a revelation! Definitely something to remember for the future as well.
Monika
I really like this apple recipe Corina! I like that it's a lighter kind of dessert, full of goodness and simple to make. I especially like the sugar coated pine nuts:)
Corina
Oh Monika, those sugared pine nuts were just so good! I almost burnt them though!
Scott
What a fresh, light and tasty dessert recipe. Looks incredible.
Corina
Thanks Scott! It was really tasty and I'm so pleased you think it looks good too!