poached apricots with anchovies & olive jam
“The dish is really accessible,” says James Gibson, executive chef at Arbory Bar & Eatery. “It’s the perfect marriage of the sweetness of apricot, the saltiness of anchovies, the subtle roundedness of the Arbequina – and the cheese and olive jam bring it together. Enjoy!”
- Author
- James Gibson, Arbory Bar & Eatery
Ingredients
- 1kg fresh apricots
- 250g caster sugar
- 250g honey
- 500ml water
- 10 cardamom pods
- 5 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs lemon thyme
- Peel of one orange
- 30g Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt
- Mount Zero Olive Jam
- Torta del Casar cheese*
- Anchovies (Ortiz or another good quality brand)
- Lemon thyme sprigs
- Mount Zero Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions
- Cut each apricot in half and remove the stone. Set aside while you prepare your poaching liquor.
- Crush the cardamom pods, then gently toast them in a frying pan until aromatic.
- Combine all poaching ingredients (except the apricots and lemon thyme) in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Bring this poaching liquor up to a boil then reduce the heat. Hold at this level and add your apricot halves.
- The apricots should take about 45 minutes to poach. They're ready when they are tender but not falling apart.
- Roughly an hour prior to plating the dish, remove all ingredients from the fridge. It's best served at room temperature.
- Remove the outside of the cheese (or just scoop into the middle) – your goal is to only serve the gooey centre.
- Build the dish as follows: per apricot half, use roughly 5g of olive jam, 10g Torta del Casar, 1 anchovy fillet and a couple leaves of lemon thyme.