In Season: Apricots - DIY Apricot Butter

Fruit Butters are a great way to make use of overripe fruit. They're also a bit easier to make than jellies and jams. Today, we're using the stone fruit star of the season, the Apricot, as the base for a smooth and tangy fruit butter that is irresistible by itself on bread or crackers, or, better yet, alongside butter, cream cheese, ricotta, or even sinful mascarpone. (We admit to an Apricot obsession this summer - check out our recent Apricot Mint Sorbet).

Homemade Apricot Butter, Photo: NK

We love our recipe all the more because it employs ingredients you'll find handy in your pantry (except for the fresh Apricots of course), and in just an hour and fifteen minutes' time, only a bit of which is spent actively cooking, you'll emerge from your kitchen with two cups of Apricot Butter that tastes just as good or better than anything you can find in a gourmet store. Enjoy it yourself or cool the mixture and spoon into a mason jar for a charmingly homemade hostess gift. Apricot Butter can be stored in the fridge for up to a week for a taste of summer anytime the mood strikes. 

Apricot Butter
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Gorgeous, ripe Apricots. Photo: NK

Yield: 2 Cups 

Ingredients:
10 or 11 very ripe medium-sized Apricots, carefully pitted and halved
1 Cup Orange Juice
1/3 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 good pinches of Salt

Method:
1. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Partially cover and over moderately-high heat, allow the mixture to to simmer. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it for about 10 minutes. Apricots will become very soft.

2. Uncover the pot and and lower the flame tp just under medium. Continue to cook simmer, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture is very thick. About an hour. 

3. Scrape mixture into food processor or high powered blender (we used our Vitamix) and blend until quite smooth. Allow the mixture to cool fully before refrigerating in an airtight container. Apricot Butter will keep up to a week in the fridge. 
ENJOY! 

Fast, Fabulous & Frozen - Apricot Mint Sorbet

Today's post is going to be really quick, just like this wonderfully refreshing sorbet for your high powered blender - coming to you just in time for the warm weather. If you're looking for a sweet, tart fix, why not whip up a frozen treat using beautiful in-season Apricots. Healthy though it may be, this dessert really delivers. The twist? Fresh Mint Leaves. Mint goes

Apricots - very delicious this time of year, Photo: NK

so well with sweet stone fruit; the combo is really surprising and makes for a very complex yet subtle flavor profile. 

I created today's speedy Sorbet recipe quite by accident. I had some leftover Mint leaves from our recent Gnocchi with Peas & Spring Herbs that I didn't want to waste. Then a week or so later, my bunch of Apricots I'd been looking forward to eating were ripening at a faster pace than I could enjoy them. Whenever fruits and herbs are at their peak, it's a great idea to freeze them in order to minimize waste. So I pitted and sliced up my Apricots, and weeks before that, to preserve my mint, I had placed three or four leaves in the bottom of each compartment of an ice tray before covering with water. Fast forward to the present day, and in rummaging through my freezer, the thought occurred to me that these two ingredients might just work wonderfully together.

A great way to store & preserve herbs, Photo: NK

Mint Ice Cubes make a fun addition to summer drinks, and in this case they provide a great way to add both ice and Mint to your blended creations. 

To recap: Make Mint Ice Cubes using 3 or 4 leaves of Mint in each ice cube compartment, cover with water and freeze!

Fast Apricot Mint Sorbet 

Serves 2

4 Mint Ice Cubes (see note above /with about 12 leaves of mint, three leave in each cube)

2-3 very ripe Apricots, pitted, cut into small slices and then frozen

2 teaspoons Agave, Honey, or other sweetener if your choice

1 Tablespoon Water (only if needed to thin out the consistency)

~Blend in a high powered blender until very smooth, scoop out, and serve immediately! 

Apricot Mint Sorbet is super healthy and delicious, Photo: NK 

NK Bakes - Easy Apricot Blackberry Frangipane Tart

There's a first time for everything and today, it's NK's first baking post. 

I've mentioned before that I dread baking. I do it as little as possible. While I marvel at the creations of others, I generally prefer to cook - cooking just seems to me to be more expressive, open to interpretation, and a bit less scientific. That said,I totally admire bakers, especially my best friend who is amazing at it. I've been trying, to no avail, to get her up here for a baking guest post (ahem). When I finally wear her down, you're all in for a real treat. 

Today's tart was inspired by a delicious dessert I enjoyed last week at a very unique restaurant called Dish in Water Mill, NY. Check it out here: Dish Hamptons 

Logo Courtesy of Dish Restaurant, Water Mill, NY

Dish is a tiny little place run by a charming husband and wife team who met while in school at the CIA. The restaurant, an unassuming storefront tucked in a shopping center, gives you the feeling of being in a quaint country kitchen, and their weekly four or five course pre-set prix fixe menus are on par with some of the finest restaurants around. To add to the awesome factor, it's BYOB. Last week's meal was as usual, unbelievable from start to finish, but the Apricot Tart served for dessert was a showstopper. It was then and there that I vowed to find a way to bake a similar tart and by God, I'd find an easy way to do it. 

My baking attempt was successful and easy thanks to in-season fruit and frozen puff pastry dough. Also, I learned how easy it is to make basic Frangipane - or almond cream. Frangipane is often a component used in the best baked goods. It imparts extra richness, taste and overall moistness. 

Easy Apricot Blackberry Frangipane Tart 

Adapted from Savour-fare.com

Serves 8 - Makes 2 Tarts that serve 4 each

Ingredients:

For the Tart

One Package Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets (I used Pepperidge Farm brand which has 2 sheets)

4 or 5 ripe Apricots, pitted and thickly sliced

1 package ripe Blackberries

Raw Sugar (for sprinkling)

1 Egg, optional, for extra browned tart crust

For the Frangipane (recipe adapted from French Food -About.com)

Almond Meal, Photo: NK

1/2 Cup Ground Almond Meal 

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons softened Butter

3/4 teaspoon good quality Vanilla Extract

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

Method:
 

Lay out two large sheets of Puff Pastry to thaw for 30 - 40 minutes or according to the package directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, prepare the Frangipane by combining all ingredients in a food processor. 

Blend until ingredients create a smooth and creamy paste. 

Frangipane, Photo: NK

Once the Puff Pastry has thawed, lay each piece on a non stick cookie tray or sheet pan.

On the first dough rectangle, carefully fold in the edges by a centimeter or so, pressing them down into the base of the tart to seal them and create a crust. Run your knife ever so lightly around the inside edge of the folded in crust. Repeat on the second dough triangle.

Spread the Frangipane over the inside of each tart crust. It should cover the inside completely but not so much that it spills over the crust edge. 

Assembled Tart, Photo: NK

Next, press your Apricots and Blackberries into the Frangipane. 

Optionally paint the crust edges with Egg White to promote a nicely browned, even crispier crust.

Optional Egg Wash, Photo: NK

Finally, sprinkle the tart liberally with Raw Sugar, and set in the oven to bake.

25 minutes should yield a perfect, golden brown and delicious tart. 

Slice into squares and enjoy!

Painless and Delicious! Apricot Blackberry Frangipane Tart, Photo: NK

Photo: NK

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