Aged Cheese With Apricot Paste and Toasted Almonds
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 13mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 6 ounces dried apricots
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 (2 ounce) package dry pectin
- 1 cup whole blanched almond
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 12 ounces aged cheese (see note)
directions
- Put the apricots in a small bowl and cover with warm water.
- Cover bowl and set aside 30 minutes.
- Drain, reserving liquid.
- Purée plumped apricots in a food processor with 1/3 cup reserved soaking liquid until very smooth.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Put the purée into a small saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.
- Then reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the purée thickens slightly and deepens in color, about 12 minutes.
- Stir often.
- If necessary, reduce heat or remove pan from heat for a few moments to avoid scorching.
- Little by little, sprinkle pectin over the fruit, stirring constantly to help it dissolve.
- When all the pectin has been stirred in, increase heat to medium-high and cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly.
- Transfer to an 8-inch square pan, spreading evenly.
- Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until fully set, about 2 hours.
- The paste may be made up to a week in advance and refrigerated, covered.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put almonds in a small baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly coat.
- Toast almonds until they begin to turn deep golden brown, about 12 minutes.
- Stir a few times to brown evenly.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
- The nuts may be toasted a day ahead and stored in an airtight container.
- To serve, slice cheese into ½-inch slices or into individual wedges and put to one side of individual serving plates.
- Cut apricot paste into 2-inch squares or diamonds and set 2 or 3 pieces opposite the cheese, with a small pile of toasted almonds alongside.
- Note: This dish was inspired by the classic Spanish pairing of manchego cheese, an aged sheep's milk cheese, with quince paste.
- Other cheeses to consider are a sharp cheddar or other sheep's milk cheeses.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
TishT
Las Vegas, Nevada
I live in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to run into Recipezaar around Nov. 2000 and got hooked quickly. I am a cookbook collector and have been collecting recipes for as long as I can remember. My DH had to build in shelves for all my cookbooks! I like to dabble with OAMC and for a few years hosted the Budget/OAMC forum with some great people over there. Even though I don't work in the forum any longer I've set up a lot of cookbooks for the purpose of OAMC and stretching food that might be helpful. Please feel free to check them out! I go on food jags and cooking jags! Please come say hi to me and chat on facebook. I currently host a blog for saving money through finding deals and coupons if you are interested. Most of the time I try to cook and have a good dinner on the table but I'll be honest enough to say there is still fast food occasionally in the budget! I have had such wonderful support here whenever I need it. Thank you all for being here! Just a quick note on how I rate recipes:
? 5 stars - This recipe is perfect. (My DH is truly a critic and doesn't give 5's unless it's amazing) I would recommend it to others and would definitely make again.
? 4 stars - This recipe was good but I would change something in it next time.
? 3 stars - This is a recipe I would not make again but it was OK
? 2 stars - This recipe I would not make again and we didn't like it at all
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