For me, these beautifully golden orange coloured fruits truly mark the start of summer. Walking into the supermarket or visiting the local market, I can't help but pick up a punnet of the golden orange delights, encasing a smooth and sweet flesh within their velvety outer body. I love them because they're so delicious and can provide numerous health benefits. They're also rich in many plant antioxidants and are extremely low in calories. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many recipes take advantage of these gorgeous fruits. They're great in a crumble or a tarte tatin, but I think they're delicious poached and served with some natural yoghurt for pudding or granola at breakfast. They're perfectly sweet and unbelieveably quick and simple to make.
Makes 1 large bowl
640g of apricots (I used 2 punnets)
200ml of water
1 dessert spoon of vanilla extract
2 tbsp caster sugar or runny honey
Method
- De-stone the apricots by chopping them into halves.
- Put the apricots, water, vanilla extract and caster sugar into a large pan and leave to simmer over a medium-low heat with the lid on for 8-10 minutes.
- Put into a large serving bowl. Either serve hot or cover with cling film and put into the fridge once cooled.
Top tip: If you want to make the apricots slightly 'posher,' add a small splash of Cointreau, the beautiful orange-flavoured liqueur whilst the apricots are simmering and serve with good quality vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
