Turkish Stuffed Apricots
Ingredients
- 24 Dried Turkish apricots (around 200g)
- 1 cup kaymak, clotted cream, or mascarpone at room temperature
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup shelled unsalted pistachios, finely chopped
Methods
- Soak the apricots in 2 cups of cold water for 8 hours or overnight.
- After the apricots have finished soaking, remove them from their soaking liquid. You should have about 1 cup of liquid left. Add more water if needed to reach 1 cup.
- Combine the soaking liquid with the lemon juice and sugar in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil.
- Gently add the apricots to the liquid, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apricots are very tender, but not mushy, 10 to 20 minutes. I found the apricots cooked unevenly, so it’s best to check the apricots as you go and remove them individually to a plate when they are tender. Allow the apricots to cool to room temperature.
- Once all the apricots are removed from the liquid, increase the heat to a full boil, and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced slightly and starting to become syrupy. It should easily coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Use a paring knife to gently open each apricot about halfway. Carefully spoon the filling into each, then dip the exposed filling in the chopped pistachios.
- Arrange the stuffed apricots on a serving platter, drizzle with the syrup, and scatter any remaining pistachios over top.
