Your Favorite Recipes Using Dried Apricot?

[content]

CVS has Sunsweet Apricots (16 oz) on sale this week for $1.99 - regularly over $4 I think - I got 2 for $1.98. :)

Now, what to do with them? I did some web searching for recipes and came up with a few such as:

Apricot Squares from allrecipes.com
Apricot Oat Bars http://www.wildoats.com/u/recipedetail11009/
Apricot Bread http://www.haddockweb.com/ApricotBread.htm
Heavenly Apricot-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies http://www.recipezaar.com/26712

But I was wondering what your favorite recipes using dried apricots are.

Thanks!

[Paul Weller]

Roast pork tenderloin with apricot fennel ragout.

[lgss]

Lorna Sass' "Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure" Armenian Red Lentil Stew. ExtraVeganZa cookbook has a recipe for Almond, Apricot Rice Flour cookies.

[Father Kitchen]

I'd better get over to CVS! Your question prompted me to look to Epicurious for a recipe my sister makes: apricot mustard. I didn't find it. I found one for pumpkin apricot layer cake that is a must do. It called for apricot puree, made from dried apricots simmered in apricot nectar with a bit of sugar added. I wonder whether Marcella Hazan's recipe for the Italian classic dessert crema de albicocche could be made from apricot puree from dried fruit. Has anyone tried using dried cots for it? I've been waiting for the apricot season to make an apricot meringue pie with the apricot cream as the filling. Beyond that, I love to add choped dried apricots to chicken when braising it. And they are very good in whole-wheat and oatmeal honey bread with toasted walnuts. Then of course there the Italian fruit mostardi and brandied apricots.

[markab1955]

Pipe some goat cheese in the middle, wrap with a half slice of bacon and stick a toothpick in it. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, what a lovely appetizer!

[financialdistrictresident]

Turkey burgers stuffed with goat cheese with warm apricot, roasted red pepper salsa on top. Also like wild rice with spicy almonds, dried apricots, golden raisins and dried cranberries.

[hungry_pangolin]

I love them with lamb. I will sometimes resuscitate them in brandy (microwave quickly, if short of time), and stuff a leg of lamb, or isert them between the ribs of a rack. Another delicious lamb application, is in the marinade for lamb sosaties, lamb brochettes from Cape Malay cuisine. The marinade is red wine, vinegar, apricot preserve, dried apricots, tamarind paste, curry powder, onion, garlic, cardamom, allspice, pepper (and whatever family variations), brought to a boil, then cooled to room temperature. The lamb is marinated for minimum 24 (usually closer to 48) hours in the fridge (some recipes say even longer, but I think that that would be more for mutton). On the skewers, thread pieces of lamb, the apricots from the marinade, and slices of mild onion. Grill the brochettes, basting with the marinade occasionally.

[Father Kitchen]

I'm drooling.

[aidam.]

Try our Crumbly Oat and Apricot Bars: http://www.chow.com/recipes/10920

[Tom Steele]

This is from my immersion blender cookbook. It's really good!

Veal Meat Loaf with Dried Apricot Coulis

This is another recipe that actually came to me in a dream. I woke up and scribbled in the dark what I could remember.

This results in a remarkably tender loaf, and apricots and saffron go together so ironically well.

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 cup chicken broth, low sodium, if canned
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
1 1/2 lbs. ground veal
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup salted and roasted pistachios (optional)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed thoroughly
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 dried apricots, cut into 1/4-inch pieces with oiled scissors
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon Cointreau
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion just until it begins to take on some color, 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Heat the heavy cream in a small skillet or in a glass measure in a microwave oven just until it simmers. Stir in the saffron and set aside to cool.

In another small skillet, reduce the chicken broth to 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool.

Combine the cooled saffron cream and the reduced broth with the breadcrumbs and set aside for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the cooled onion, the veal, pork, egg, egg yolk, optional pistachios, thyme leaves, capers, salt, pepper, and the breadcrumb mixture. Mix well with your hands. Shape the mixture into a 9” x 4” loaf on a large foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the coulis: Place the apricots in a medium saucepan with the orange juice, Cointreau, Madeira, and 1/2 cup of filtered water. Bring just to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes, or until the dried apricot bits are flabby-tender, then set aside to cool. When the mixture has cooled, add the ginger and orange zest, tilt the saucepan, and puree the mixture until smooth with an immersion blender. Taste carefully and add water if you think it’s needed.

When the meatloaf is done, be sure to let it rest for 10 minutes to let it firm up, then carve it into attractive slices. Drizzle the coulis around the slices and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

[Agent Orange]

How about Pistachio and Apricot Baklava?

There's a recipe posted in the following thread that sounds amazing.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/31871...

[jinet12]

Roast them and toss in chicken salad, made with mayo, small dice celery, and slivered almonds...

[QueenB]

I had no idea you could (or would) roast dried apricots. How does it change the flavor or texture, jinet? I'm intrigued.

[jinet12]

They become sweet and plump...I got the idea from Central Market, a gourmet grocery in Dallas...My neice worked there, and their Apricot Chicken Salad is their best selling salad...It's simply roasted apricots, chicken breasts, a little celery, slivered almonds, and mayo..It is truly delicious!

[QueenB]

I am definitely going to have to try roasting those suckers. I'll have to come up with other things to put them in.
Do you have any idea what temp and how long?

[jinet12]

Having never done this, I am "winging" it here...For dried apricots, I would put them in a glass pie plate, and add some water, and roast them at 350 degrees until they are roasted, but not browned...For fresh, I would put them in a pan and roast at 400 degrees until they are roasted through, but again, not browned....They should be soft and plumped, but still retain their firmness...

[pikawicca]

Candy helped me whip up these appetizers last week; they were yummy.

Split (horizontally, like a book) your dried apricots.
Pipe on some goat cheese thinned with a bit of Grand Marnier.
Sprinkle on chopped pistachios.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not serving immediately. These disappeared very quickly!

[Candy]

And were really tasty as we were making and tasting.

[rose water]

Oh, pikawicca and Candy, that sounds great.
I've been making brandied raisins a lot lately, and spooning them up over strained yogurt. I always throw in diced dried apricots, dried cranberries, and whatever else I have around (and think that's why I like them so much, since I'm not a huge raisin fan).

[Candy]

What we ended up doing was throwing the goat's cheese in the FP with the Grand marnier and whipping it. It could then be piped into the apricot halves and dipped in chopped pistachio halves. 2 people and not real work at all. Looked gorgeous too! Gosh all I did was stop into too take her a sample of the Anson Mills rice pudding with fresh rhubard compote and rhen next thing you know we wre stuffing apricotss!

[pamalamb]

These are fantastic, and they look so elegant if you're having a party!

[Ms Ghost]

Yesterday I had some leftover rotisserie chicken so I chopped dried apricots and fresh fruits--mango, pear, red grapes and kiwi and tossed all the fruits with greens in a dressing of rasberry chipotle combined with some mayo and blood orange-infused evoo. Put the chicken slices on top and sprinkled with some feta as well as some finely chopped peanuts and everybody loved it. Very quick and easy!

[Becca Porter]

The very best thing I have ever had is Pierre Herme's Fouberg Pave in his Chocolate Desserts book.It is a loaf shaped cocoa cake, soaked with a caramel soak, filled with caramel ganache, and apricots marinated in a little lemon juice and black pepper. Outstanding! If it wasn't quite so long I would post the recipe...

-Becca
www.porterhouse.typepad.com

[j2brady]

I absolutely love dried apricots!

I just had a dinner party and a friend brough the dessert which consisted of dried apricots simmered in a cardamom simple syrup (you could certialy use a cardomom spiked OJ). Each is then dipped in some yummy finely chopped pistachios and then drizzled with creme fraiche.

I have seen similar recipes that pipe a thicker cheese into the appricots lie mascarpone and then they are dipped into pistacios.

This really is a faboulous recipe!

[EAH]

Wonderful in scones.

[bigjimbray]

My sister use dry her apricots when I was a kid and i remember she use to make
fried pies out of alot of them. they were some of our favorites.

[MsMaryMc]

These are tasty on a hors d'oeuvres platter

Dried Apricots With Blue Cheese
http://www.casagordita.com/driedapric...

[PhoebeB]

YesYesYES!!! Apricot fried pies.. Anyone who ever ate one at Harvey Goff's burger place on Lovers Lane in Dallas will tell you that any apricot that doesn't go in a fried pie has missed its calling.

Stew them with sugar to taste til soft and not runny. Add a little cardamom or Ceylon cinnamon if you like, though the flavor of apricots needs no help.

Cut ~6" pastry circles (make your own pastry if you feel compelled: won't be noticeably better than--and prob. not as flaky as--Pillsbury pie crust sheets). Spoon apricots on half (leaving a 5/8" margin for sealing), fold over and crimp edges w/wet fork.

[It's important to get just the right amt. of filling in the pies. Not so little that you taste mostly pastry, not so much that you don't get a good bite of the flaky pastry with every bite of apricot. Trial & error.]

Deep fry til golden brown in peanut (or other high-smoking point) oil. Drain on paper towel, dust generously w/conf. sugar.

[content]

My first attempt with the apricots was Apricot Sour Cream Scones - YUM! (I even made it again the next day!)

Apricot Sour Cream Scones
The River Street Inn, Sun Valley ID

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2/3 cup sour cream (I used a bit more, but less than a cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (I added a few more)
1 large egg, beaten
Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400*F (205*C).

Mix first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add butter and combine with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center of mixture. Add sour cream and vanilla to well. Using fork, stir sour cream mixture into dry mixture until dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Sprinkle apricots over. Knead dough until apricots are incorporated, about 10 turns.

Flatten dough into 8-inch round on lightly greased baking sheet. Score into 8 wedges. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 scones.

[roxhills]

Chicken Marbella and Craig Claiborne's Cream Scones with Dried Apricots-- my 4 years old helps me-- they are simple and delicious for breakfast.

[amyamelia]

Last week I had some old shriveled brown dried apricots to use up and I made rice pilaf with dried apricots and toasted pinenuts. I made it with brown jasmine rice and it was delish. My 20 month old baby ate bowl after bowl after bowl... and the grownups really liked it too! Recipe can be found on epicurious.

[sandrina]

I second this plan. I've used chopped dried apricots and toasted walnuts and mixed them in with brown rice. The heat from the rice softens them a bit and allows them to release their natural sweetness. Very simple and delicious.

[maestra]

I've made them into a paste and used them as stuffing in sweet tamales. Delicious!

[warrenr]

i like them in stuffing, cut up tiny.

[jjones21]

When I was growing up, we had several apricot trees in the backyard and my mom dried her own apricots. Since we had them on hand at all times, I was used to substituting them for raisins in cookies, breads, whatever. Also, they are good with oatmeal for breakfast.

[catsailor]

Chicken Tagines with spices/almonds and apricots. Sublime! Just search tagine recipes on google. You can use a covered casserole dish if you don't have a tagine.

[LindaWhit]

Or Lamb Tagines. I also like dried apricots chopped up in turkey or chicken salad with minced ginger.

[amyzan]

Martha Stewart has a yummy apricot walnut bar cookie on her site. Double the recipe and bake it in a 9 by 13 inch pan to use more apricots. http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/s...

[akk]

Not a very exciting suggesiton, but I chop them and add them to granola with almonds and golden raisins. I use Deborah Madison's granola recipe.

[DGresh]

chopped and added to roasted or saute'd brusselsprouts, with pecans

[cafecreme]

This isn't really a recipe, but I love to add them to a cheese plate. Some dried apricots and toasted hazelnuts go really well with manchego and some apple slices. I also saw a recipe for chicken with dried apricots--a Rachael Ray recipe. Maybe it's still on the FN site. I've had it in my head since I have a bunch of them from Trader Joe's...

[financialdistrictresident]

They are so great on a cheese board. Dried cranberries too!

[Fleur]

I use them in Silver Palate Chicken Marbella with Prunes. It is a great dish.

Also soaked in wine and slivered very thin with Mesclun and Goat Cheese Salad.

[OCEllen]

Simmered in orange juice with some grated orange peel served with roast duck or pork.

[foodslut]

Also fantastic in cous cous.

[Liskypisky]

Definitely GREAT in couscous. Let me soak in hot water for a bit. Slice them up and throw it into couscous with some grilled scallions and spices...delicious!

[littlegreenpea]

I often soak them in (hot) white wine or broth and then roast them with a pork roast.