Poached Apricot Halves Food

POACHED APRICOT HALVES

Steps:

• In a 4-to-5-quart pot over medium heat, combine 4 cups water with sugar, lemon peel, ginger, cardamom, and vanilla scrapings. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Add apricots to pan. Rinse a double thickness of cheesecloth under cold water, and drape it over apricots so all the fruit is covered by the cloth and submerged in liquid.
• Continue simmering until apricots soften slightly, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely. Use immediately, or transfer apricots and poaching liquid to a storage container. Make sure the apricots are completely submerged in liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 4 days.

VANILLA-POACHED APRICOTS WITH ZABAGLIONE

Steps:

• Poach apricots:
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into a 2-quart saucepan, then add pod, water, sugar, zest, and salt. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat, then boil 1 minute.
• Carefully add apricots, then reduce heat and poach at a bare simmer, turning over once, until fruit is tender but still holds its shape and skins are still intact, 2 to 6 minutes. Transfer apricots and syrup to a large shallow bowl and cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Make zabaglione:
• Beat together yolks, sugar, and wine in a deep 4-quart metal bowl with a handheld electric mixer at medium speed or whisk vigorously until combined well.
• Set bowl over a 4-quart pot of barely simmering water and beat mixture until tripled in volume, 5 to 6 minutes.
• To serve:
• Spoon 2 or 3 apricot halves into each of 6 glasses and top with zabaglione. Serve immediately.

VANILLA PANNA COTTA WITH POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• Prepare an ice bath; set aside. Place 3 tablespoons cold water in a large bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand until gelatin has softened, about 5 minutes.
• Combine the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add vanilla bean and scrapings. Gently simmer mixture until bubbles form around sides of pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Discard vanilla pod.
• Pour hot cream mixture into gelatin mixture, and whisk until combined. Set bowl in the ice bath. Let cool completely, stirring frequently. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Divide among eight custard cups. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• To serve, remove the custard from refrigerator, uncover, and top each portion with two poached apricot halves.

POACHED APRICOTS WITH PISTACHIO AND AMARETTO MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Poach the apricots: Add Sauternes, lime half, vanilla, sugar and 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters water to a saucepan just big enough to hold the apricot halves in one layer. Place the pan over high heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid boils.
• Remove the pan from the heat and place the apricots in the hot liquid, cut sides down. Leave them to poach in the residual heat until they are soft but still hold their shape (20 to 40 minutes, depending on how ripe they are) flipping them every 10 minutes. Set the apricots aside to cool slightly. (If not serving immediately, transfer the apricots to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.) Squeeze the lime into the syrup and then discard it; return the saucepan with the syrup to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup/70 milliliters, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
• Prepare the mascarpone mixture: Combine pistachios, amaretti cookies and sugar. Add three-quarters of this mixture to a bowl with the mascarpone and mix it all together until combined, then fold in the cream.
• To serve, divide the apricots and the amaretti cream between four bowls. Pour the syrup over the apricots and sprinkle the remaining amaretti and pistachio crumble over the cream. Finish with orange blossom water and lime zest and serve.

SIMPLE POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• Bring water, agave nectar, and orange peel to a brisk simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add apricots, pushing down to cover with liquid; reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook until apricots are just tender, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on ripeness.
• Transfer apricots gently with a slotted spoon to a shallow bowl or dish. Pour just enough liquid over them to cover and return saucepan with remaining liquid to stove. Simmer over medium-high until reduced by half and lightly syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• Strain syrup into dish with apricots. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and serve.

HONEY VANILLA POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan simmer water, honey, sugar, and vanilla bean, covered, 5 minutes. Add apricots and simmer, covered, until just tender but not falling apart, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on ripeness of fruit.
• Transfer apricots with a slotted spoon to a bowl and boil syrup until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Pour syrup over apricots and chill 25 minutes.

CHEESECAKE WITH POACHED APRICOT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment. Set a kettle of water to boil.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in sugar, sour cream, and vanilla seeds. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Beat in lemon juice.
• Transfer cream-cheese mixture to prepared pan. Smooth top with an offset spatula. Place pan in a large roasting pan, and transfer to oven. Pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of baking pan. Bake until cake is just set in the center and lightly browned on top, about 35 minutes.
• Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool 30 minutes. Invert cheesecake onto serving platter. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
• To serve, arrange poached apricot halves, cut side down, on top of cheesecake, allowing juice to pool on surface and drizzle down edges.

LILLET-POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• Bring wine, water, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and spices to a simmer in a medium pot, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add apricots, pushing down gently so fruit is submerged. Cover surface with a parchment round and simmer just until apricots are tender when pierced with a knife, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer as done to a dish, using a slotted spoon, and cover with another piece of parchment. 2. Bring poaching liquid to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 40 minutes; strain. Let apricots and reduced liquid cool, then serve together with whipped cream.

POACHED APRICOTS WITH ROSEWATER

Steps:

• Put the sugar into a medium pan with 150ml water. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then add the apricots and simmer for 15 mins until soft. Take off the heat, splash in the rosewater and leave to cool. Spoon into glasses to serve, topped with a few dollops of the yogurt and a scattering of nuts.

APRICOTS WITH AMARETTO SYRUP (ALBICOCCHE RIPIENE)

Steps:

• Peel apricots with a vegetable peeler, then halve and pit. Finely chop 2 halves and set aside.
• Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook sugar, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Stir in Amaretto (be careful; syrup will spatter) and simmer, stirring, 2 minutes.
• Working in 2 batches, poach apricot halves in syrup at a low simmer, turning, until almost tender, 5 to 10 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer apricots, hollow sides up, to a platter.
• Add crumbled amaretti to syrup and cook over low heat, crushing cookies with back of a wooden spoon, until melted into a coarse purée.
• Stir in reserved chopped apricot and gently simmer, stirring, until syrup is deep brown and slightly thickened. Cool syrup slightly.
• Spoon syrup over apricots and sprinkle with pine nuts (if using). Serve warm or at room temperature.