Beautifully sweet apricots are paired here with hazelnut brittle and a sharp crème fraiche to offer your pals the perfect picnic send off.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 12 apricots, halved and stone removed
- 100ml sweet sherry
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 25g unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp water
- 300ml crème fraiche
Method
- Heat the oven to 180C. Place the apricots cut side up on a baking tray, arrange the thyme around the fruit, pour on the sherry, and finally drizzle over the honey. Cook in the oven for around 15-20 mins, or until the top of the apricots are browned, but still hold their shape. Remove from the oven, leave in the baking tray to cool, and then transfer to a jar, pouring over the sherry and honey syrup.
- To make the brittle, butter a small baking tray, and sprinkle an even layer of the chopped hazelnuts. Warm the sugar, butter, salt, and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat up, and boil for around 5 mins, stirring occasionally. When the mixture has turned golden brown, pour over the hazelnuts in the baking tray. When cooled, break the solidified caramel mixture into shards, and place in an air-tight container.
- To serve, place four apricot halves on each plate, drizzle over some of the syrup, and serve with the hazelnut brittle and a dollop of crème fraiche.