Tag Archives: apricot

Roasted Zucchini Quinoa

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  • 2 zucchini
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1/4 cup green olives with pimentos, chopped
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric roasted fennel seeds*
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400.  Halve your zucchinis length wise, sprinkle them with roasted fennel seed and roast for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare quinoa using chicken broth in lieu of water.

In a separate pan, saute your onion and garlic over medium heat with a bit of salt and pepper for about 10 minutes.

Once your zucchini are done, remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes, just enough to chop them into bite sized pieces.

Add olives, apricots, zucchini, onion mixture, honey, salt and pepper to your quinoa and toss to combine.

*A yummy fennel seed that’s seasoned with salt and turmeric that we got at a local Indian market.  If you can’t find it, substitute with plain fennel seed, salt and turmeric.

Apricot Chicken with Mint and Pistachios

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pistachochicken

This dish is a feast for the senses!  There are lots of flavors, colors and textures going on here.

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Apricot, Bleu Cheese and Caramelized Onion Burgers

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bleuburger

Everyone knows that beef and bleu cheese are long time BFF’s.  On this, their latest culinary journey, they’ve decided to bring along apricot for the ride.  Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 1 lb ground beef (80/20% is best)
  • 1/4 cup apricot preserves
  • 1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely sliced
  • 1/4 tsp fresh thyme (you can substitute dry if you like)
  • 1/4 cup bleu cheese dressing
  • 2 tbs Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
  • 1 tsp worcesterchire

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil.  Once the oil is heated, add in your onions, salt and pepper.  Cook for a few minutes and reduce heat to low.  Allow the onions to cook down about 15 – 20 mins, stirring occassionally.  Onions should be medium brown in color.

In a small bowl, add bleu cheese dressing, hot sauce and worcesterchire.  Mix to combine and set aside.

In a large bowl, add ground beef, apricot preserves, thyme, bleu cheese, salt and pepper.  Form mixture into 4 patties. 

Add the patties to the same pan you used to caramelize your onions.  Cook patties 4 – 5 minutes each side.

To serve, spread English muffins and/or hamburger buns with bleu cheese sauce, and top each burger with caramelized onions.

Peach and Apricot Crostata

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crustata

Crostata, is Italian for pie.  I love the rustic, casual feel of this dessert. 

If you know me at all, you know that I am somewhat obsessed with Giada De Laurentiis.  This is her no fail crust recipe.   I’m constantly experimenting with different fillings and this is my latest venture!

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons ice water
  • 1 egg plus a splash of water for egg wash
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Add the ice water and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. (If the dough still crumbles and does not form into a ball, add another tablespoon of ice water.) Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Filling:

  • 1 8 oz pack of cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup apricot jam
  • 1/2 bag of frozen peaches, thawed
  • pinch of salt

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, jam and salt and set aside.

This mixture yields quite a bit.  You will only use about 1/4 cup of it for the crostata itself but save the rest,  it would be great on toast!

Preheat your oven to 400.

Meanwhile, dust a large sheet of parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough on the paper to an 11-inch round. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a heavy large baking sheet. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border and arrange your peaches on top.  Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, leaving the peaches exposed in the center. Pleat loosely and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. Brush the crust with an egg wash.

Bake the crostata until the crust is golden, about 35 – 40 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack; cool for 10 minutes. Slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the crostata from the baking sheet. Cool the crostata to lukewarm. Sprinkle with almonds and serve.

 Tips:

  • The secret to at great pastry dough is to use the coldest butter possible.  The reason being, while it bakes, the butter creates little steam pockets that result in that flaky, buttery crust we all crave!