Best Lillet Poached Apricots Recipes

PERFECT POACHED FRUIT

Steps:

• Place the vin santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean, and zests in a large, shallow saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact, and scoop out the seeds from the bottom with an apple corer or melon baller. Lay half the pears on their sides in the poaching liquid and simmer for 20 minutes, carefully turning the pears once with a spoon. Remove with a slotted spoon. Poach the remaining pears in the same liquid. Snip off the hard stems from the figs with scissors. Add the figs, apricots, prunes, and the first batch of poached pears and simmer 5 to 10 more minutes, until the pears and the dried fruit are all tender.
• Chill the pears, dried fruit, zests, and poaching liquid. Remove the cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean before serving if you like.

LILLET-POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• Bring wine, water, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and spices to a simmer in a medium pot, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add apricots, pushing down gently so fruit is submerged. Cover surface with a parchment round and simmer just until apricots are tender when pierced with a knife, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer as done to a dish, using a slotted spoon, and cover with another piece of parchment. 2. Bring poaching liquid to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 40 minutes; strain. Let apricots and reduced liquid cool, then serve together with whipped cream.

POACHED APRICOT HALVES

Steps:

• In a 4-to-5-quart pot over medium heat, combine 4 cups water with sugar, lemon peel, ginger, cardamom, and vanilla scrapings. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
• Add apricots to pan. Rinse a double thickness of cheesecloth under cold water, and drape it over apricots so all the fruit is covered by the cloth and submerged in liquid.
• Continue simmering until apricots soften slightly, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely. Use immediately, or transfer apricots and poaching liquid to a storage container. Make sure the apricots are completely submerged in liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 4 days.

SIMPLE POACHED APRICOTS

Steps:

• Bring water, agave nectar, and orange peel to a brisk simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add apricots, pushing down to cover with liquid; reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook until apricots are just tender, 2 to 5 minutes, depending on ripeness.
• Transfer apricots gently with a slotted spoon to a shallow bowl or dish. Pour just enough liquid over them to cover and return saucepan with remaining liquid to stove. Simmer over medium-high until reduced by half and lightly syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• Strain syrup into dish with apricots. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and serve.

POACHED APRICOTS WITH PISTACHIO AND AMARETTO MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Poach the apricots: Add Sauternes, lime half, vanilla, sugar and 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters water to a saucepan just big enough to hold the apricot halves in one layer. Place the pan over high heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid boils.
• Remove the pan from the heat and place the apricots in the hot liquid, cut sides down. Leave them to poach in the residual heat until they are soft but still hold their shape (20 to 40 minutes, depending on how ripe they are) flipping them every 10 minutes. Set the apricots aside to cool slightly. (If not serving immediately, transfer the apricots to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.) Squeeze the lime into the syrup and then discard it; return the saucepan with the syrup to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup/70 milliliters, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
• Prepare the mascarpone mixture: Combine pistachios, amaretti cookies and sugar. Add three-quarters of this mixture to a bowl with the mascarpone and mix it all together until combined, then fold in the cream.
• To serve, divide the apricots and the amaretti cream between four bowls. Pour the syrup over the apricots and sprinkle the remaining amaretti and pistachio crumble over the cream. Finish with orange blossom water and lime zest and serve.