Rosemary, apricots, sugar and water come together quickly in a very simple, very French dessert. Recipe below.
I just found out about Weekend Herb Blogging, a weekly event created by Kalyn over at the popular Kalyn’s Kitchen. So when I came across some particularly nice looking rosemary at the produce market, I thought I’d toss my toque in the ring.
Rosemary is probably my favorite herb. Every year we grow some in the yard and some in a pot on the back porch, and I always watch it impatiently, waiting for it to get big and hardy enough for me to start harvesting occasional sprigs. Even when I’m not clipping bits to use in some dish or another, 
I like brushing against the plants as I pass, catching a whiff of the big, distinctive fragrance they release. Rosemary does wonderful things to lamb, chicken, pork, roasted potatoes—and to apricots, in this wonderfully simple French dessert.
I think there is a perception among many cooks and non-cooks alike that French cooking is complicated and daunting. And while much of classic Gallic cuisine can be, the essence of a great deal of French cooking [to me, anyway] is taking a handful of carefully chosen ingredients and preparing them simply in a way that brings out the best flavors in each of them and blends them into something that isn’t just delicious, but somehow exactly “right.” This recipe [adapted from one found in Laura Calder's excellent French Food at Home
Rosemary Apricots
Serves six
6 firm ripe apricots, halved and pitted
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
leaves from 1 large sprig, rosemary
Gently heat sugar in a sauté pan with water and rosemary. When sugar is dissolved, bring to a simmer. Place apricot halves in pan fanny side down, as Ms. Calder so charmingly puts it [the rounded side down, for the less poetic among us] and poach until tender, about 3 minutes—maybe 4 minutes if your apricots are on the firm side of ripe. Don’t let them get too soft.
Remove fruit with slotted spoon and place two halves on each serving plate. Increase heat to medium high and boil the cooking liquid down to a syrup, about five minutes. Spoon around apricots and serve. It may seem runny as you spoon it around the fruit, but it quickly thickens as it cools—essentially as it contacts the plate.
CAUTION: Be careful about the plates you choose for serving this dessert. The syrup gets very hot and can crack delicate or antique plates, particularly glass. Seriously. I speak from firsthand experience here.
Kitchen Notes
Cooking with Rosemary. You can cook many dishes that call for fresh rosemary with dried rosemary leaves [or needles, as they're often called], using about one third the amount called for. Not this dessert, however—it demands the softness of fresh leaves.
When preparing a dish that calls for a whole sprig rather than the leaves, I often bruise it with a rolling pin or the side of a glass. This releases more of the rosemary’s oils and flavor. But the act of plucking the leaves from the stem, as you do for this dish, sufficiently roughs them up.
SPECIAL NOTE: Be sure to check out the rest of the Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn’s Kitchen this coming Sunday.
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Rosemary is the only herb that’s still green in my winter garden — not alive, but green — frozen in time, literally. It’s there to remind me to plant again in the spring, and when I do, I’ll be trying this apricot recipe. I’ve never had the combination of apricot and rosemary, but it sounds intriguing.
Terry,
I have rosemary planted in a vase growing beautifully at home - and I live in a small apartment, my herbs (chives, parsley and basil) grow in vases at the balcony.
This recipe is wonderful and I’d love to give it a try soon - I love peaches!
Every time I need to get some rosemary, Joao tells me to be gentle and go easy - he’s always afraid it will die. The funny thing is that he’s OK with me using the other herbs.
Very nice idea to combine rosemary and apricots. I love rosemary! And welcome to Weekend Herb Blogging.
Terry, you have outdone yourself! I love the idea of combining rosemary and apricots - how French!
I am hoping to start weekend herb blogging this summer, at least during the summer.
how lovely - rosemary is my FAVORITE herb. i put it in everything. i love it on brie with a baguette… yum!
i love this photo.
Terry - Who would have thought of this combo? Very, very intriguing. I feel so lucky to live in Southern California, where I don’t even have to grow my own rosemary, as everyone else on the block uses it in their landscaping. Any time I want some, I just take a walk with my clippers.
Just a quick tidbit about rosemary - in herbal lore, it is said to be for remembering, so it’s often incorporated into ceremonies where you are remembering someone. Another use is in hair conditioner, particularly for dark hair. It is said to soften and condition hair.
Lovely picture and even lovelier recipe..
Wait no the other way around.
Anyway they’re both terrific!
Thanks, everyone, for all the nice comments, especially about the photos [I got a number of nice emails in addition to ParisBreakfasts' charming remark]—I must admit, I’m particularly happy with how these turned out.
It’s also wonderful how popular rosemary is and how it conjures up nice memories and, in Patricia’s husband Joao’s case, even protectiveness. By the way, Patricia, I have thought of trying this with peaches too—or maybe even pears. I think I would slice the pears into quarters or sixths, not just halve them, because their flesh is firmer than the apricots.
Oh, Terry, these are truly lovely photos! Rest assured, I’ll be trying apricots with rosemary soon. Very soon.
Terry,
I had a good laugh now - isn’t it amazing how our minds pulls tricks at us?
I read “apricots”, I saw “apricots”, but my brain - and my fingers - chose “peaches”.
I used to love peaches as a kid and one day I saw a bunch of them on the table and I was stunned by their soft skin. I started rubbing them on my hands, then on my face. After a while, everything started itching like hell - I was desperate and called my mom! (I was 6 or something).
So, as you can see, I have a special connection with peaches - can you forgive my mistake?
Patricia—I figured something exactly like that had happened, but I bet this recipe would be good with nice, ripe peaches too.
Your peach fuzz story reminds me of a childhood story of my own. My grandmother used to have cactus plants in pots on her kitchen windowsills. I don’t know if it was because they were easy to care for or seemed somehow exotic, but she had lots of them. My younger brother Mike and I were warned to avoid touching them for fear of getting injured.
Some were obviously dangerous, with sharp spines. But one was surrounded by a cloud of soft needles, almost more like hair or cotton candy. Mike didn’t believe this one could possibly be harmful, so he touched it anyway, with the tip of his index finger, and proclaimed that it didn’t hurt.
Then he rubbed his finger and thumb together. Oh, yeah. It hurt.
Ha! Loved the story about the cactus. I remember being counseled to figure out my gardening style. If I was a worrier and was constantly watering, I should go aquatic. If I couldn’t remember to water regularly, I should choose cacti, which only need to be watered when you read that it’s rained in Phoenix. I chose things in the middle and killed them all.
What a neat combination! Rosemary is fabulous - maybe second only to basil in my book. Great blog!
That´s definitely a must try. Thanks for sharing.
I love rosemary and grow it in my sunroom. Your photos are great and I love the thought apricots and rosemary together.
Rosemary is my absolute favorite herb (and smell… it should be marketed as a perfume in addition to a taste, I think). I am definitely going to try this recipe out myself. Thanks!
I’m struck by the compliment of apricot orange next to the green rosemary and blue plate in your picture, as well; it’s very beautiful.
I’m hoping to overwinter the rosemary in front of our home this year. We planted Basil, Sage, Oregano and Rosemary in the strip of used-to-be-weedy-grass, AKA Devil’s strip, between the walk and the street- the herbs LOVED it! Looked lovely as well as nice to brush your hand through and catch the scents on a summer evening.
Rosemary is one of my favourites too. And rosemary and apricots… what a great idea! I know that Calder probably has this pegged as a dessert item but this would be fantastic with crusty bread and coffee for breakfast!
We’ve just recently been discovering the wonders of Laura Calder. Today, we saw her on Food Network (Canada) poaching peaches with thyme. I so wanted peach season to be NOW just to try it!
-Elizabeth