I have been gifted a jar of home made apricot sauce, and wondered what I could use it for. I thought possibly apricot chicken in the crockpot? Any other suggestions would be welcomed please

Apricot is one of my favourite flavours. I seldom eat any jams but I make an exception for apricot. I use a little on corm fritters. Yes, it also goes well with chicken dishes, too.

Thanks Marnie. I don't eat Sweet Corn Fritters often enough, so the jar will be here for ages. I think I will try and utilise it with chicken pieces in the crockpot, and do the old packet of Onion Soup and sliced onion recipe from the 80's. Otherwise it will lurk in the fridge for ever and a day. Since being with George, who can't understand NZer's obsession of mixing sweet flavours with meat, my taste buds are the same now, and I avoid recipes that combine the two. But this is the only thing I can think to do with this apricot sauce, without wasting it

I'd be inclined to search out a Middle Eastern recipe for a spicy tagine or other braised dish that includes dried apricots, and use the apricot sauce instead of apricots. The spices will balance out the sweetness.

thanks for that idea TPANDAV - that is great thinking

Here's a suggestion, a Persian braise.

Mishmishiya (Lamb or Chicken)

serves 4

250g dried apricots, sliced in half and soaked for at least two hours or overnight
1 kg lamb leg steaks, cut into 2 cm pieces OR 1 kg free range chicken thighs or drumsticks
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
60g ground almonds
1 tsp salt

Put all ingredients into a large saucepan and pour in enough water to come half way up. Cover, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 90 minutes, periodically checking that there is still some liquid and adding more water if necessary so that when the meat is tender there is a little sauce. Check for tenderness (lamb may need a little longer, chicken will definitely be tender) and check salt and add a little more if needed.

Serve hot with plain white rice and a plain green vegetable such as steamed silver beet or spinach.

That recipe sounds absolutely perfect thank you! That is what I will use, as I love the sound of the spices. And surprisingly I have a packet of ground almonds lurking in the pantry as well. I can kill two birds with one stone.
Cheers

If you have some ham it makes a fantastic glaze. I have often put it on the fatty parts of the slices and given it a blast in the oven till the fat renders and the sugars start to caramelize.

Thanks for posting this Networkn. We actually bought a large ham over the weekend, and I still have the jar of sauce. There most probably will be sufficient to do both the tagine recipe and a ham glaze
Cheers

Seriously, nothing can't beat good apricot glazed chicken. I tried the recipe from TasteMade and it was absolutely delicious.

We tried this one and it was pretty great. It's perfect for chicken and duck.

1.5kg pitted apricots, chopped
2 medium onions, sliced
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 cups Chelsea White Sugar
2 cups white or cider vinegar

Place fruit, onions and salt in saucepan and simmer until juice runs from fruit.
Add spices, pepper, Chelsea White Sugar and 1 cup of the vinegar. Cook until fruit is mushy.
Puree mixture in a blender.
Return to pan, add remaining vinegar and simmer until mixture reaches the consistency of pouring cream.

from [www.chelsea.co.nz]

dianaw'88 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We tried this one and it was pretty great. It's
> perfect for chicken and duck.
>
> 1.5kg pitted apricots, chopped
> 2 medium onions, sliced
> 1 Tbsp salt
> 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
> 1 tsp ground ginger
> 1/4 tsp ground cloves
> 1/4 tsp ground pepper
> 2 cups Chelsea White Sugar
> 2 cups white or cider vinegar
>
> Place fruit, onions and salt in saucepan and
> simmer until juice runs from fruit.
> Add spices, pepper, Chelsea White Sugar and 1 cup
> of the vinegar. Cook until fruit is mushy.
> Puree mixture in a blender.
> Return to pan, add remaining vinegar and simmer
> until mixture reaches the consistency of pouring
> cream.
>
> from [www.chelsea.co.nz]

Thanks for sharing the recipe. Might try it soon.

TPANDAV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a suggestion, a Persian braise.
>
> Mishmishiya (Lamb or Chicken)
>
> serves 4
>
> 250g dried apricots, sliced in half and soaked for
> at least two hours or overnight
> 1 kg lamb leg steaks, cut into 2 cm pieces OR 1 kg
> free range chicken thighs or drumsticks
> 2 onions, finely chopped
> 1 tsp coriander powder
> 1 tsp cumin powder
> 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
> 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
> 1/4 tsp ginger powder
> 60g ground almonds
> 1 tsp salt
>
> Put all ingredients into a large saucepan and pour
> in enough water to come half way up. Cover, place
> over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer
> for 90 minutes, periodically checking that there
> is still some liquid and adding more water if
> necessary so that when the meat is tender there is
> a little sauce. Check for tenderness (lamb may
> need a little longer, chicken will definitely be
> tender) and check salt and add a little more if
> needed.
>
> Serve hot with plain white rice and a plain green
> vegetable such as steamed silver beet or spinach.



Well I finally got around to using the Apricot sauce and made this recipe last night. I made it in the crockpot and it was beautiful. I actually think I would prefer this recipe made with apricot sauce as opposed to dried apricots,, as they possibly wouldn't break down as much. Thanks for sharing this TPANDAV

I made TVPANDAV's recipe tonight because I had boneless and skinless chicken thighs that had to be cooked today. I had everything needed in the pantry but I did not have enough time to soak the apricots for the minimum of two hours as suggested. I just covered them with boiling water while I trimmed the chicken thighs. I was a bit dubious about not browning the chicken because when I stirred everything together it looked so pale. I wanted to add more colour to the dish so instead of cooking rice I toasted coarse bulgur wheat with olive oil in a pan till lightly browned and then added water, brought it back to the boil, lid on and left off heat for 15 minutes till the water was absorbed. That was a new recipe for me and went really well with the chicken which turned out absolutely delicious. Browning is definitely not required and also the sauce didn't look quite as pale as it started off. The ground almonds really made the dish. So, thank you TVPANDAV for this recipe which I will definitely make again. I might also try Lorna's way of using Apricot Sauce.