Prosciutti with grilled apricots

I love the combination of prosciutto with melon. But recently a picture on the internet got me thinking about combining it with apricots... This is what I came up with.

The one thing I really like in this combo is the sourness that the apricots also have. Give it a try.
I had them warm from the oven, but I think they would be really nice cooled down too.

Ingredients:
Apricots
Olive oil
Fleur de sel or plain salt
Thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped

Preheat your oven grill to maximum heat.
Halve, de-stone the apricots and place them in an oven proof dish. Sprinke or brush with a little of your finest olive oil, sprinkle with the fleur de sel and chopped thyme.
Place under the grill and wait until the tops are slightly broiled.

Serve with your prosciutto, some salad and I had a little mozzarella to go with it.

Apricot and blueberry pie with honey and sweet vermouth

This little number came to be because I had a total of five apricots at home which were going sort of soft... Meh. (Major apricot binge these last two weeks or so.)
In the grocery store I walked past the dough section and picked up on of those pre-rolled puff pastry pie shells, thinking I could turn it into something... And it did turn out very nicely indeed.

Many people like to sprinkle the bottom of the pastry with ground almonds or hazelnuts. Not only does this add taste but it also helps to soak up the fruit juices and keep the pastry from going soggy. Since I try to avoid nuts, I have substituted this with either Kellogg's Special K (bashed to powder with my pestle and mortar) and as I didn't have any of it on hand today, with a rye crisp bread.


I used blueberries here because the five apricots didn't quite fill out the pie and I had the berries on hand. So I just used enough to fill the gaps. They look stunning in combination with the apricots and their flavor doesn't really detract from them either.

For the sirup on top I wanted to go with lemon juice and sugar at first. But apricots are always associated with honey (don't know why) and I remembered the big bottle of sweet vermouth in the cupboard (I had bought it thinking it was the dry variety...). I was surprised how well the herb-y, woody notes of the wine complimented the apricots. I will be using this combination again for sure.



1 puff pastry pie shell
1 slice rye crisp bread, use pestle&mortar or a plastic bag and a rolling pin to crush it into powder
a little sugar, if the fruit needs it
5 apricots, de-stoned and quartered
a handful of blueberries
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1 teaspoon honey

Preheat your oven to 200°C.
Sprinkle the rye powder over your pie shell evenly. Add a little sugar if you want to.
Distribute your apricots evenly and then the berries into the crevices. Combine the vermouth and the honey. Heat and let it boil for a couple of minutes. Then pour the sirup over the whole pie.
Bake for ca. 25 minutes or until the bottom has crisped.