dried apricots

torakris · February 17, 2004

On my last trip to Costco I picked up a bag of dried apricots for snacking. However the 1 kg bag is still more than half full and my family is sick of them.

What can I do with these?

hjshorter · February 17, 2004

Orzo salad with apricots, almonds, and ginger oil. PM me for the recipe. Same flavors are good as a rice salad too.

Toasted · February 17, 2004

Dice them and add them to rice or salads. I made a rice dish last week with

saffron, diced dried apricots, and chopped toasted nuts.

chezcherie · February 17, 2004

stuff 'em with goat cheese (or bleu) and top with a pecan half...drizzle with some honey spiced up with a little cayenne or chipotle if you like. mmm

Mabelline · February 17, 2004

Use them in a tagine, or if not some sort of a chicken dish, perhaps?

jackal10 · February 17, 2004

Dried apricot jam

Stewed, with cream

Rehydrate and cook like fresh: tarts, pies etc

JennyUptown · February 17, 2004

Puree 'em, perhaps with some raisins, and use the mixture to stuff a pork tenderloin.

Alex · February 17, 2004

The New Basics cookbook has a wonderful, simple recipe for dried apricots with chanterelles. I've used it with great success as a sauce for both chicken and pork tenderloin.

gingerly · February 18, 2004

mix with woody spices,top with brandy and put away in a quiet place...

JosephB · February 18, 2004

Reconstitute, puree, and incorporate into an Apricot Soufflé (Pepin, Art of Cooking, Vol. II)

foodie3 · February 18, 2004

dip them in chocolate several times to build up a thick layer!

bloviatrix · February 18, 2004

Soak them in boiling water to plump and the puree to make apricot butter. You can use as cookie filling . Another thought is use in a bulgur pilaf -- heat oil in saucepan, add chopped onion and carmelize. Add 1 cup bulgur and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant. Add 3 cups boiling stock, ground ginger, and diced dried apricot. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes.

kitwilliams · February 18, 2004

Reconstitute and puree (add a touch of almond extract) and use as a filling for rugelach.

helenjp · February 18, 2004

Eat them with stinky cheese? I like them with the date-expired Norwegian Ridder that sometimes goes on special at Daiei. It has an especial funk to it - camembert too mild and creamy (though that's good too), blue cheese too sharp.

Note: you can't put apricots and cheese into your mouth indiscrimately. You have to have the cheese on top, apricot on the bottom. This is really important.

ludja · February 18, 2004

Make these delicious Turkish Apricots Stuffed w/Cream

Soak 1/2 lb of apricots in water for at least 1 hr or overnight. Drain them and make a simple syrup with equal parts water and sugar--1 1/4 cups each. Add lemon juice to syrup; then 1 Tbs rose water. Add drained apricots and simmer for 10-15 minutes; let cool.

Slit each apricot and fill with mascarpone; garnish with finely chopped pistashios

(This is adapted from a Saveur recipe).

chromedome · February 18, 2004

In Iranian cooking, apricots are considered to be the natural accompaniment to lamb (just like that grotty mint sauce is in England). Try them stewed with the lamb; or in a rice pilaf served with a mild curry. Both are excellent.

bloviatrix · February 18, 2004

Another thought: poach in a sweet wine such as sauternes or late harvest reisling with a vanilla bean.

SobaAddict70 · February 18, 2004

Kristin: does your family like granola? Here's a thought -- use it one of these days for granola. The problem with this idea is that most granola recipes make A LOT of granola, so perhaps you'll have to wait for a period of time when your family isn't sick of the stuff.

Soba

torakris · February 18, 2004

keep the ideas coming! :biggrin:

These all sound wonderful, I like the idea of combining it with cheese or doing dessert style dishes, that one with rose water sounds wonderful and I have a small bottle that has yet to be used (I think that may be my next question!)

Granola, my kids might go for that and it could make a great breakfast and make my morning easier....

JPW · February 18, 2004

Mediterranean style -

A garlicky dip for toasted pita

Good thick greek yoghurt (or drain some plain american style through a cheesecloth lined strainer for a couple of hours)

Minced garlic

Slivered dried apricots

Pinch of salt (to taste)

Mix well, cover and refridgerate. The longer it sits in the fridge the more the apricot flavors the yoghurt

fifi · February 18, 2004

This is too funny. I was rooting around in the fridge last night and way in the back I found this 3 pound bag of apricots. I got it at Sam's ages ago and it gets lost, gets found, I snack on a few, then it gets lost again. I think the damn things are reproducing in there. But they are still fine, so all of these ideas may help make them GO AWAY!

I was going to dice some for a fruit salad type thing one time and it was such a PITA I ended up just doing enough for a garnish. Does anyone have tips on dicing those sticky things?

JPW · February 18, 2004

fifi,

dicing is too ambitious for me.

getting down to slivers is enough.

my best results are basically from constantly rinsing knife in hot water to reduce *goop* buildup.

foodie3 · February 18, 2004

to dice apricots i use a serrated knife, stack them up (3-4 high) and cut all lenghtwise, then i line them up and cut across. you can also rub the knife w/oil.