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Ambrosial apricots with thyme
Serves 4 Desserts and puddings
Ingredients
- 500g ripe (or nearly ripe) apricots
- 4tbsp honey (a medium or dark one works well – Greek thyme honey is ideal)
- 4 thyme sprigs (with flowers if home-grown)
- Greek-style yoghurt, to serve (optional)
Method
Cut the apricots in half, if large. You can remove the stones, but they are easier to remove from the cooked fruit and people enjoy nibbling the flesh off the stone.
Transfer the apricots into a medium-large pan, ideally in a single layer. Pour over 300ml water and drizzle over the honey. Tuck the thyme sprigs among the apricots. If you have the thyme flowers, remove these to use as a garnish.
Put a lid on the pan and bring slowly just to the boil. By the time it reaches boiling point, the apricots should have softened slightly. Turn off the heat and carefully turn them over. Cover and leave for 10 minutes so the lower half cooks in the residual heat.
Remove the apricots with a slotted spoon and put them in a serving bowl. Turn up the heat under the pan and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes, or until the juices are slightly syrupy. You're aiming to keep the mixture quite light rather than over-reduced. Leave the syrup to cool and infuse with the thyme.
Pour the syrup over the apricots. Remove the thyme sprigs. Pull some of the leaves off to scatter over the dish, if you like. If you have thyme flowers, scatter them over now.
These are best at room temperature but fine served chilled. Add yoghurt, if you like.
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