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The Wonder Dish You Need To Try This Fall

This recipe from Jenny Rosenstrach's new book has everything we want in an autumn dinner.
By Lynn Andriani
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Photo Chelsea McNamara

As we head into peak comfort-food season, pot roast, mac ‘n’ cheese and chili beckon—but before you head down the usual path, we’d like to suggest a detour to what might be the best fall recipe we’ve tried in a long time. It’s familiar, but with a couple of twists that make it feel fresh and different; it’s apple-y, but not overly so; and, it’s perfectly rich and filling. This dish is just the thing you want simmering on your stove after a cool day, but not something that’ll actually take you all day to make.

Say hello to Cider-Braised Pork Meatballs with Creamy Polenta, from Jenny Rosenstrach’s new book, How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day In Between. Rosenstrach, who writes the blog Dinner: A Love Story, starts her pork meatballs with two common enough ingredients—bread crumbs and eggs—but then adds chopped, fresh sage leaves and lemon zest, so the meatballs have a warm, woodsy flavor that’s bright, too.

Once you brown the meatballs (Rosenstrach’s trick for keeping them nicely round: Use a nonstick skillet, which prevents pieces of meat from sticking to the pan and meatballs from falling apart; hers is ceramic nonstick), you make the savory-sweet braising liquid. It starts with a sautéed shallot, in goes some tomato paste and a dash of sugar, then chicken stock, hard cider, apple-cider vinegar and butter. You simmer the browned meatballs in this mixture for 15 or 20 minutes, until they’re cooked-through yet tender.

These meatballs would be delicious enough on their own, but you’d be selling that superflavorful braising liquid short if you didn’t serve everything atop a creamy puddle of polenta. Making it is as simple as pouring cornmeal into boiling stock and letting it bubble for half an hour, until it’s thick. Ladle a spoonful onto each plate, then top with a few meatballs and some sauce. The apple-cider vinegar gives the entire dish a little hit of brightness; the meatballs are satisfying and warm, and nice and juicy, thanks to the braise. Pot roast, we know you’ll still be there in December; but for now, we’re cozying up to this fantastic reinvention of an old favorite.

Get the recipe: Cider-Braised Pork Meatballs with Creamy Polenta

Before You Go

8 Fall Recipes For Busy People
A Surprise Use For The Fruits Of Your Apple-Picking Labor(01 of08)
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Put aside the applesauce and apple-pie recipes for a moment, and consider using at least one of those Granny Smiths in this quick weeknight dinner. The fruit and a creamy, sour cream-based sauce work wonders, keeping potentially dry chicken breasts moist. You cut the meat into bite-size pieces, so there's more surface area to soak up the flavorful juices created by cooking the apple slices in chicken stock. A bit of thyme and Dijon mustard give the dish even more depth and counterbalance the tart fruit nicely.

Get the recipe: Chicken with Apples and Carrots (credit:Photo Alison GooteeStudio D)
A Butternut Squash Dinner That's Hard To Resist(02 of08)
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There's a lot to love about a pasta supper that includes tender butternut squash, savory sausage, fresh sage and a touch of heavy cream. If that isn't enough to entice you, though, there's also fresh arugula, which wilts into the hot pasta at the very end of cooking, and a smattering of grated Parmesan, which provides a just-sharp-enough counterpoint to the rich sausage and cream, and the sweet winter squash.

Get the recipe: Penne with Sausage and Butternut Squash (credit:Photo Andrew Purcell)
An Unexpected Use For A Greenmarket Staple(03 of08)
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We know zucchini can stand in for spaghetti, but we were surprised to learn that shredded cabbage can work in certain dishes, too. In this smart recipe, green cabbage, which you'll see all over farmer's markets in late fall, is the substitute for the typical rice noodles and forms the basis of a healthier pad Thai. The hardy vegetable adds fiber to the finished dish, and you still get that signature salty-sweet flavor, thanks to soy sauce and a small amount of sugar.

Get the recipe: Lightened-Up Pad Thai (credit:Photo Aran Goyoaga)
A Reason To Stock Up On A Bite-Size Autumn Fruit(04 of08)
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Breakfast for dinner usually includes eggs, but this intriguing twist on toast with jam takes a different tack. It's essentially an open-face sandwich starring a fall fruit that doesn't get as much play as apples and pears: grapes. While they are in grocery stores all the time, you may find them at your farmer's market now (especially the concord variety), and pan-roasting them concentrates their flavor and gives them a depth they lack when raw. With creamy mascarpone cheese they make a fantastic topping for crisp slices of toasted baguette.

Get the recipe: Pan-Roasted Grape and Mascarpone Toast (credit:Photo Andrew Purcell)
The Grain-Free Way To Eat Rice(05 of08)
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We're already on board with cauliflower as a delicious addition to mashed potatoes and a nutritious way to thicken mac 'n' cheese. Turns out the cool-weather veg can also transform into "rice" when you shred it with a grater; you'll wind up with grain-like bits, which you can then sauté or steam. The bits cook more quickly than their carb-y counterpart and their mild flavor goes with almost anything you'd serve with rice. This simple recipe pairs the cauliflower with fresh herbs, lemon, apricots and walnuts.

Get the recipe: Cauliflower "Rice" Salad with Herbs and Dried Fruit (credit:Photo Carrie Vitt)
Tender, Juicy Chops with Their Best Friends for Life(06 of08)
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Tart apples, sweet onions and juicy pork chops come together brilliantly in this one-skillet winner. It's easy to make: Just brown the chops in olive oil for a couple of minutes, pour in a bit of wine (or beer) and some chopped shallot and remove the meat from the pan. In go sliced apples and onion and a good glug of stock; once the liquid is bubbling, you return the pork to the skillet and continue cooking until the meat is done and the apples and onions have turned into a soft and chunky sauce.

Get the recipe: Skillet Pork Chops with Apples (credit:Photo Romulo Yanes)
The Salad For Brussels-Sprouts Skeptics(07 of08)
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If you're on the fence about the "mini cabbages" known as Brussels sprouts (they can taste bitter if overcooked), try this raw version, which has you use a food processor fitted with a grater attachment to shred the sprouts into thin ribbons. Tossed with a Dijon-garlic-carawa-seed dressing, the Brussels taste crisp yet tender. Plus, apples, grapes and almonds add sweet crunch.

Get the recipe: Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Grapes Recipe (credit:Photo Alison Gootee)
Not Your Average Stir-Fry(08 of08)
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While this one-pan Asian pork-and-veggie dish does include soy sauce, it’s hardly the same old. Two fun additions veer it in a new direction: the zest of a fresh lime gives the meal a tropical and sweet undertone, while a smattering of crushed peanuts add salty crunch. And although the recipe calls for a package of coleslaw, you could also use shredded, fresh cabbage, which is available year-round but at its sweetest in the fall.

Get the recipe: Stir-Fried Pork with Cabbage, Peanuts and Lime (credit:Photo Marcus Nisson)
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