Baked apricot with bay and honey

SERVES 4-6

PREP TIME 15 minutes

COOK TIME 45 minutes

While there is very little better than a fresh apricot eaten straight from the tree, if you are lucky enough to have a good crop you will need to be a little more imaginative. Baking apricots intensifies the flavour and will bring the best out of any fruit that is not quite perfectly ripe. The combination of spices in this syrup enhances different aspects of the apricot’s flavour, while baking them whole – with the stones still inside – adds another layer of complexity, with nutty almond flavours emerging. Try this alongside a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream or with double cream. This recipe would also work well with fresh peaches.

100g runny honey

5 cardamom pods, cracked open

generous pinch of saffron threads

1 tsp coarse sea salt

3 small bay leaves

10 apricots

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4.

• Put the honey, 100ml of water, the cardamom pods, saffron, salt and bay leaves into a small pan. Place over medium heat and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer gently for 3 minutes then remove from the heat.
• Place the apricots, whole, in a small baking dish big enough to hold them snugly – you don’t want too much space between them. Pour over the honey mixture, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to scrape out any saffron threads that have stuck to the side of the pan.
• Roast the apricots in the oven for 40 minutes, removing them to baste and turn every so often, or until they are very soft, but still hold their shape.
• Remove from the heat and either serve immediately or set aside until cool, then store in the fridge until ready to serve.