POACHED APRICOTS WITH PISTACHIO AND AMARETTO MASCARPONE

Poached Apricots With Pistachio and Amaretto Mascarpone image

This dessert, which manages to be both rich and wonderfully refreshing, requires very little effort. Make sure, though, that you use apricots that are at their very best. Other light dessert wines can be used instead of Sauternes.

Provided by Yotam Ottolenghi

Categories parfaits and trifles, dessert

Time 35m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

Scant 1/2 cup/100 milliliters Sauternes
1/2 lime
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
1/3 cup/67 grams granulated sugar or caster sugar
6 medium ripe apricots (about 2/3 pound/280 grams), halved and pitted
3/4 cup/80 grams raw unsalted pistachios, toasted and finely chopped
2.8 ounces/80 grams hard amaretti cookies, such as Lazzaroni brand, roughly crumbled (you'll need two 2.3-ounce/65-gram packages)
1 tablespoons granulated sugar or caster sugar
8 ounces/140 grams mascarpone, at room temperature
1/2 cup/100 grams heavy cream (double cream), lightly whipped to soft peaks
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon lime zest

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.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 595, UnsaturatedFat 18 grams, Carbohydrate 52 grams, Fat 41 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 10 grams, SaturatedFat 19 grams, Sodium 312 milligrams, Sugar 35 grams