I used to adore stone fruit as a kid. We lived on the northern outskirts of Sydney and many Greek and Italian migrants had set up orchards of peaches, apricots, plum and nectarines. You could buy them from the side of the road in big boxes and eat them fresh.These days I find it very hard to get good stone fruit. They never have that strong ripe smell and the flesh is often floury rather than tender and juicy. One way to combat the sad side effects of mass food production is to cook stone fruits. I find this brings out the flavour and intensifies the sugars. Roasting, poaching, and grilling can make a difference to a bad batch.
I also like to make apricot or peach pies. My grocer sometimes sells bags of overripe fruit for just this purpose and Jonas is always happy when I bake shortcrust pastry filled with steaming fresh fruit.
In this particular recipe, I roasted the fruits then cooled them to room temperature before serving. The addition of lemon juice and zest to this mix makes for a slight sour citric edge so if you want sweet apricots, omit the juice. I think I will next time.Roasted Apricots w Apricot Fool
Recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller February 2007. Serves 6.
Ingredients:
110g (½ cup) golden caster sugar
11 apricots, halved and stones removed
180ml (¾ cup) dessert wine (I used Botrytis Semillon)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
6 sprigs thyme
300ml thickened cream
Flaked almonds, toasted, to serve
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190’C. Scatter sugar over the base of roasting tray. Place apricots, cut side down, over the sugar. Press firmly to coat then turn over.
2. Drizzle dessert wine and lemon juice over apricots, the scatter with lemon rind and thyme.
Roast for 25 minutes or until apricots are just cooked. Cool completely.
3. In a food processor, purée 4 roasted apricot halves and 2 tablespoons roasting juices until smooth.
4. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold through whipped cream to form a ripple.
5. To serve, spoon apricot fool into bowls, top with apricots and then roasting juices and scatter with almond flakes.
This week Weekend Herb Blogging is back at home in Kalyn’s Kitchen. Be sure to head over there to see what everyone else has been cooking.
Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb bloggingwhb dessert apricot foolapricot fool roasted apricots thyme wine dessert recipes
First visit here, Great food! Going for apricots in the morn. Thanks. If, by chance, you're accepting links, please check us out at Famiche - Family Kitchen and Fashion Niche.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I find that a problem too with stone fruits. Some looks ripe on the outside but when you take a bite, it doesn't taste and feel as ripe as it should be!
ReplyDeleteHi Anna,
ReplyDeleteInteresting how so many things are the same all over the world. One of my memories of childhood is going to Brigham City, Utah where there were big orchards and fruit stands. We had apricot trees at home, but we used to buy peaches every year. This sounds very tasty. I haven't seen this type of pudding before.
Anna, I agree with you. The mass commercial growers downgrade the fruit quality.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Anna. The freshness and ripeness of stonefruit is seldom reached on regular markets. In my honeymoon long time ago we found huge ripe peaches at the roadside when travelling through catalonia. Nice to remember. :))
ReplyDeleteEven many of the roadside stands sell inferior fruit now! It drives me crazy that it now seems to be standard practice to pick the fruit so green. Oh, for a tree ripened apricot!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea to fold roasted apricots in whipped cream. Sounds delicious!
-Elizabeth