bergamot & quince

I had a few lovely apricots left over from the apricot jam making and they were so fragrant and squishy that I decided on ice cream vs. cake for their fate. This recipe is lifted from David Liebovitz's fabulous book "The Perfect Scoop" then amended by me.

8 apricots
1/4 cp water
1/4 cp sugar
3 tbsp simple syrup (or more sugar to taste up front - my apricots were tart)
1/2 cp 1/2 & 1/2
1/4 cp plain yogurt
3 drops almond extract

(you could double the recipe except for the almond extract or sub heavy cream for the 1/2 & 1/2 and leave out the yogurt - I'm experimenting with lighter ice creams hence no heavy cream)

Pit the apricots and cut them into 6ths.
Cook them with the water on medium heat until soft and jammy.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Taste, at this point if it is too tart add more sugar or wait, and if you have simple syrup on hand add that in later.
Let cool to room temperature.
Puree in a blender or a food processor (if you mind the skin giving little orange flecks to your end product, press the puree through a strainer)
Add the 1/2 & 1/2 and yogurt to the apricot puree along with the almond extract and blend.
Put mixture in the body of an ice cream maker and process until done.

Notes: I just took it out of the ice cream maker and it froze beautifully into a soft serve consistency - will have to see what it is like tomorrow. The color is a gorgeous orange and it has the perfect tart/sweetness that fresh apricots do with an almost floral backnote. I feel like it needs caramel or an extra deep flavor to compliment it...

Posted by dgirl at 10:24 PM | Permalink

A simple roasted pork belly which when sliced very thin makes excellent sandwiches. This is adapted from Nigel Slater's "Kitchen Diaries"

one large onion - peeled, halved and cut very thinly
5 tablespoons of olive oil
4 garlic cloves - peeled and finely chopped
3-4 big sprigs of fresh rosemary - pull the leaves from the branches and chop fine (about 1 tablespoon)
18-20 black peppercorns crushed with the back of a jar/wine bottle
3 fresh bay leaves or 3 dried (left whole)
2.5 tsp whole fennel seeds
a lemon
about 2lb of fresh pork belly (I bet you could use a roast with plenty of fat as a substitute)

Heat the oven to 350. In a big saute pan heat the olive oil then add the sliced onion. Soften but don't brown. Add the chopped garlic and saute another minute or two. Add in the rosemary, the bay leaves and the crushed peppercorns, fennel and a good seasoning of salt. Let everything cook down until in Nigel's words it is "pale gold and fragrant". This takes about 6-8 minutes on medium heat. Squeeze the lemon over all of it and scrape up the pan stickings.

Liberally salt and pepper the pork then lay it skin side up in a baking dish. Tuck the seasoned onion around the pork loading some up the sides. Bake for a good hour occasionally stirring the onion bits and pieces

When done, let cook slightly then slice very thinly. Serve on soft rolls with a bitter green salad (arugula) that has been tossed with a lemon vinaigrette and some of the pan drippings.

Posted by dgirl at 10:46 PM | Permalink