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Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Peeler
Spatula
Pestle and mortar
Sauté pan with a lid
Hand blender
Non-stick pan
For poached apricots:
500 g apricots, halved and pitted
45 ml coconut sugar
45 ml lemon juice
3 lemon zest strips
5 ml or 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cardamom pods
1 short cinnamon stick
360 ml water
For almond crumble:
60 g raw almonds
15 g coconut flakes
15 g coconut sugar
15 g butter, unsalted
For the yoghurt base:
360 g skyr
180 g mascarpone cheese
Rinse the apricots under cold water to remove dirt or residue. Using a small, sharp knife, slice the apricots along their natural seam, cutting around the fruit.
Twist the halves in opposite directions to separate them.
If the apricot is ripe, the pit comes out easily.
Choose perfectly ripe apricots for this recipe.
Place cardamom pods in a mortar and crush them to release the seeds inside.
Another way of crushing cardamom pods is by laying them on the cutting board and crushing them with the flat side of the knife.
Using a peeler, peel off lemon zest strips and leave them on the side. Cut the lemon in half and juice it.
In a sauté pan, combine coconut sugar, water, lemon juice, vanilla extract, lemon stripes, crushed cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Take the sauté pan off the heat and place the halved, pitted apricots cut side down, covering the bottom. Cover the saucepan and let the apricots poach in residual heat for 20-30 minutes. Flip the halves every 10 minutes.
If the apricots are ripe, 20 minutes will be enough.
While the apricots are poaching, make the almond crumble. In a hand-blender cup, combine almonds, coconut sugar, and coconut flakes. Blend until crumbly.
To make the crumble, use a non-stick pan.
Heat the pan and add butter. Melt the butter on medium-low heat, and once melted, add the blended mixture.
Toast it on medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes continuously stirring to prevent it from burning. By the end, the sugar should dissolve and caramelise, making the crumble darker in colour.
Transfer to a plate and let it cool for 10 minutes. As it cools, it will crisp up.
After 20 minutes of poaching, remove the apricots from the saucepan, spoon in a little bit of the poaching liquid, and leave them covered on the side.
Put the pan back on the heat and reduce to a syrupy consistency. It will take 8-10 minutes to get a rich, syrupy sauce.
The syrup is ready once the spatula leaves a trace on the bottom of the pan.
Also, take into account that the syrup will thicken a bit further as it cools down.
If you want to prepare apricots ahead of time, keep them in the poaching liquid until ready to serve. Just before serving, remove them from the poaching liquid and make the syrup as described above.
Using a spatula combine skyr and mascarpone in a bowl until smooth.
Once all the elements have cooled down, it is time to plate them.
Spoon the cheese base on the plate. Top it with poached apricots and drizzle with the syrup. Top it with almond crumble and serve.
HOW TO STORE
If preparing poached apricots ahead of time, keep them in the poaching liquid until ready to serve. Reduce the poaching liquid just before serving.
Poached apricots can stay in the poaching liquid for 4-5 days, remaining beautifully juicy. If storing them without the poaching liquid, keep them in an airtight container inside the fridge and use within 3 days. Without the poaching liquid, the apricots might slightly dry out but will still be tasty.
For the syrup, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and use within a week.
Lastly, the crumble can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.
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