Roasted apricots with honey, cardamom and saffron

A simple roasting method that will leave you with a tray of delicious spiced apricots. They can be eaten warm as a dessert with ice-cream or eaten with yoghurt for breakfast. They are also just as happy to be used alongside some lamb or pork.

Roasted apricots with honey, cardamom and saffron Credit: Benito Martin

• serves

  10

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g honey
• 100 ml water
• 5 green cardamom pods, bashed open
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 tsp river salt
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 10 apricots

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC.

Place the honey, water and spices into a small saucepan. Place on a medium heat and cook until it comes to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Place your whole apricots into a small baking dish or tray. You want them to be sitting without too much extra space around them. Pour over the honey liquid, making sure to scrape out any bits of saffron sticking to the side of the saucepan.

Roast the apricots for 40 minutes, removing them to baste every so often.

At this stage your apricots will be soft but still hold their shape. Turn your grill on to very high and place the apricots under it. Leave them there for 4–5 minutes or until they start to colour a little.

Remove from the heat and either use immediately or set aside until cool, then pack them away in your fridge for later use. Remember, when serving them to warn your friends of the stone hiding inside of them.

Cook’s tips

• If you want to use this recipe as a savoury preparation, throw in a few sprigs of thyme as well when roasting and a bit of extra salt. Also feel free to add extra spice - mustard seeds and fennel seeds would both work well.

Photography by Benito Martin. Food styling by O Tama Carey. Prop styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Nick Banbury.

This recipe is part of The seasonal cook: Apricot column. View previous The seasonal cook columns and recipes.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.