10 Easy Apricot Recipes To Try This Season
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Poached Apricots & Whipped Mascarpone
Place 50g of sugar and 150ml water in a saucepan with the orange zest and bring to a slow boil.
Add the dried apricots, cook for 3 minutes and then add the fresh apricot halves.
Continue to cook for 10 minutes until the fruits are nice and tender and the liquid has turned syrupy.
Turn off the heat; add the flower water and leave to macerate for at least 1 hour at room temperature.
Vigorously whisk the mascarpone with the remaining sugar and vanilla until fully incorporated.
Serve the poached apricots and some syrup with a dollop of mascarpone.
Apricot Tart With Almond & Hazelnut Crust
Whiz the Hobnobs in a food processor (or bash in a bag) to a fine crumb and place in a bowl. Roughly chop the nuts and add to the Hobnobs. Place the butter in a small pan and melt then add to the nut mixture with the salt and combine.
Tip the mixture into the tart case and push to create a tart shell, spread evenly and place in the fridge to harden.
Heat the oven to 190°C.
Half the apricots and destone, place on a baking tray, drizzle with the wine and sugar, sprinkle over the thyme and dot over the butter. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Take out and cool.
Mix together the mascarpone, yoghurt, vanilla, lemon curd and lemon juice – combine and leave to one side.
Place the honey and the thyme in a small pan and bring to a simmer then take off the heat and add the lemon juice.
Take the crust out of the fridge dollop in the mascarpone mixture and spread evenly. Place the apricots over the top then take a pastry brush and brush over the honey mixture. Either eat straight away or place back in the fridge till needed but serve within 24 hours.
Apricot & Marmalade Flapjacks
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm square tin.
Place the butter, sugar, syrup and 2 tbsp of marmalade in a large saucepan and heat until melted and bubbling. Off the heat, stir in the oats, apricots, sultanas and pumpkin seeds.
Pour into the tin and spread out into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Allow to cool before removing from the tin.
Warm the remaining marmalade and brush over the flapjacks before cutting into 16 pieces.
Apricot Frangipane Tart
To make the pastry dough, put the flour and butter into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, salt and egg yolks and pulse until the mixture just leaves the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, to make the pastry dough by hand, put the flour and butter in a bowl and rub the butter gently and swiftly into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then add the sugar, salt and egg yolks and rub it through your fingers lightly until it comes together to form a dough. Shape into a ball, wrap in clingfilm, flatten it slightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and let it soften
a little, then roll it out on a lightly floured surface until large enough to line a 23cm shallow loose-bottomed tart pan. Press the pastry dough evenly into the sides and base of the pan and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Put a sheet of greaseproof paper over the chilled tart case, fill with baking beans and bake ‘blind’ for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and the greaseproof paper and return the pastry case to the oven briefly to allow the pastry to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow the pastry to cool completely.
To make the frangipane, cream the butter and sugar in a food processor or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment until pale and fluffy in texture. Add the ground almonds and pulse to combine. Gradually add the grated lemon zest and juice, pulsing again. Remove from the processor or mixer and use a wooden spoon to stir in the egg.
Spread a layer of about half the frangipane over the pastry case, then place the apricots, cut side up, on top. Fill the spaces between the apricots with more of the frangipane. Bake the tart in the oven for 1 hour, or until the frangipane is set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tart pan. Serve at room temperature.
Rice Salad With Balsamic-Glazed Apricots, Roasted Feta & Almonds
First prepare the pickled red onion (I won’t judge you if you rather go for a store-bought option). Bring the water and vinegar to the boil and add salt, sugar and bay leaf. Slice the onion into thin rings and place it into a bowl. Pour the hot liquid onto the onion and cover with cling film. Let it cool. The reaming heat will cook the onion. If you are making extra, keep the onion in cold liquid in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Prepare now the dressing. Whisk a good pinch of salt and pepper into the balsamic, add the honey and mix. Now add the olive oil while whisking until all combined. This dressing will naturally separate itself, simply whisk again before using.
Cut the apricots in half and remove the stones. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and drizzle with olive oil and mix well. Char the apricot halves on a very hot griddle pan on both sides. It should take no longer than 1 minutes each side. It is important that the pan is very hot, the apricots well-oiled and that you do not attempt to turn them if they don’t look already charred or they could stick to the pan.
Boil the rice following the packet instruction in salted boiling water and let it cool slightly.
In a non-stick pan heat a drizzle of oil and pan fry the feta on both sides. Add a few thyme leaves for aroma. Cook for 2 minutes on each side on high heat and remember to be very gentle when turning the cheese as it is very delicate and crumbly when hot. Do not panic if it breaks or doesn’t come out well golden, the feta work well in this salad even as it is, so it won’t be a problem if not perfectly roasted or if it crumbles.
If not pre-roasted, toast the almond either on a pan or in the oven until golden. When cold, chop them into rough segments.
Now assemble the salad. Drizzle a little oil on the rice and plate in shallow bowls. Add the roasted apricots segments, crumble over the golden feta and top with pickled red onion rings. Drizzle over a spoonful of balsamic dressing and garnish the rice salad with the chopped almonds and fresh rocket salad.
La Folie, Apricot & Lavender Cocktail
For the syrup, put the sugar and water in a saucepan.
Rip the flowers off the bud and add them to the saucepan.
Cook the mixture until the texture thickens a bit and then sieve it into a glass jug and set aside to cool.
Place one lavender bud into each glass, with 3 tbsp of apricot juice and 2 tbsp of the lavender syrup.
Top up the glass up with chilled La Folie and stir very gently. Serve.
Apple & Maple Cake With Confit Apricots
To make the confit apricots, combine water and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes, until mixture bubbles. Add apricots and cook for 2-3 minutes in the syrup. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C Fan. Grease and line cake tin.
Sieve the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
Combine butter, maple sugar, maple syrup, eggs and cream of tartar. Gradually mix in flour mixture, stir in milk.
Fold in the chopped apple. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Cool and leave to one side. Serve the apricot confit with the cake.
Apricot & Pistachio Spiced Cookies
Set oven to 175°C and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Blitz 75g of the oats until you get a flour consistency and set to the side in a mixing bowl.
Add in the flour, spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice) and baking powder.
In a separate large bowl beat the softened butter and sugars together. Then add your egg and whisk together.
Add the sugar mixture, remaining oats and tablespoon of water to the flour combination.
Roughly chop the pistachios (chopping extra to garnish your cookie dough). Finely dice the apricots and add both ingredients to your cookie mixture.
Roll the dough into walnut size balls and place on a baking tray, leaving space in between and lightly flatten each ball down.
Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and your extra pistachio crumbs on each portion.
Cook for 13 minutes, turning your tray around halfway through.
Once ready, leave to cool on a rack.
Maldon Salt Apricots With Rosemary Butter
Cut the butter into slices and put it in a blender together with the washed and prepared rosemary. Add the sugar and blend at maximum speed for 2 minutes. Put the mixture into a bowl, let it soften at room temperature. Heat the oven to 160°C.
Wash the apricots and cut into the top of each apricot. Open up the cut with a knife and insert a portion of butter into each cut. Spread the rest of the butter over the dish.
Put the dish in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes on indirect heat. Once they begin to brown slightly, take out of the oven and serve with a sprinkle of Maldon salt. On a hot summer’s day, serve with vanilla ice-cream, cream or frozen yogurt.
Harissa & Apricot-Stuffed Chicken
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Roughly chop the apricots, the coriander and finely dice 1 onion.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and sauté the finely diced onion. Once soft, remove from the heat and place in a large bowl.
To the bowl, add in the apricots, coriander, harissa paste, the zest and juice from a lemon, the pouch of rice, ½ tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper.
Slice the 2 remaining onions into wedges and place on a large baking tray. Season and toss together to make sure all the wedges are covered.
Place the chicken in the middle of the onion wedges. Stuff the inner chicken cavity with your rice mixture, getting as much rice as you can inside the chicken.
Tie the chicken legs tightly together with some cooking string, this will help keep the rice and all the chicken juices inside. Season with lots of oil, salt, pepper and some lemon juice.
Cover the chicken with foil, and roast for 1 hour 20 minutes. Take the chicken out, remove the foil and season again with oil, salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to 200°C and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
While your chicken is cooking prepare your dip. Chop up your parsley. Mix together the yoghurt, pomegranates, chopped parsley, juice from a lemon, salt and pepper. Set this aside for serving. Next, toast your flaked almonds in a pan. Remove the chicken from the oven. Cut the string that holds the chicken legs together and carve your chicken, serving with the rice.
Drizzle some of your yoghurt dip and flaked almonds over each portion.
Finish each dish off an extra scatter of pomegranates, coriander and salt and pepper and tuck in.
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