Tom Conway’s Apricot Preserves
I have given up trying to grow apricots in the maritime Northwest (my first public admission). They’re fussy little trees that are beacons to any imaginable plant or insect problem nature can dispense, blooming well before pollinators appear, succumbing to peach borers and rotting at the roots where standing water prevails. Don’t think I haven’t tried; I could make a log cabin of dead apricot trees. Nope, this boy has seen the light. Apricot Eden is only two hours east of the Cascades, and they deliver.
And with those apricots, I make jam when the brief window of apricot availability is open between late June and early July. This apricot jam recipe is golden on all levels, a mixture of simple ingredients creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts. This apricot jam recipe heralds from the Alsace region of France, which borders Germany and Switzerland, a culinary destination known for lip-smacking rich food, heavy use of dairy and fine wine — my kind of place.
The recipe does not disappoint, transforming fresh and dried apricots, wine, vanilla and orange zest into a lavish spread of sensory overload. (Hyperbole? I think not.) It’s a dollop of sunshine I can count on any time of the year, as long as I make enough during the apricot’s fleeting season. This jam is adapted from the Alsatian Apricot Jam recipe in the “Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber” cookbook.
Apricot preserves recipe
Ingredients:
– 3 pounds fresh apricots
– 12 ounces dried apricots
– 4 cups sugar
– Juice of 1 lime
– Juice of 1 orange
– Zest of 1 orange
– 2 Vanilla beans
– 10 ounces – Gewurztraminer wine (or any other fruity, white wine like Riesling.)
Preparation:
Chop dried apricots, place in bowl, add wine and soak overnight.
In a new bowl, quarter fresh apricots, remove seeds and chop into bite-size bits.
In a nonreactive pan, add fresh apricots, sugar, orange zest/juice and lime juice.
Split vanilla beans in two and scrape seeds into apricot mixture. Also add the beans (remove before canning)
Simmer about 10 minutes, mixing all ingredients together until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat, cover, refrigerate overnight.
Next day, add dried apricot mixture to fresh apricot mixture. Stirring, simmer until the mixture thickens, and remove vanilla beans. I tend to simmer only for a short time and shut off the heat, letting the jam cool. When convenient, I reheat for a short time again to thicken the jam through evaporation. This jam sets up nicely and without much fussing.
Put the jam in jars and seal in water bath.
— Tom Conway, Tall Clover Farm
Pacific Crest Farm’s sorrel-onion tart
The farm sells sorrel (a tart, lemony herb) at its farm stand in Dockton and will have it at the Farmers Market in April.
Ingredients:
– One 9-inch pie crust
– 3 tablespoons butter
– 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
– 2 large eggs
– 4 cups stemmed & sliced sorrel leaves
– 1 cup cream
– 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
– Pinch of nutmeg
– Salt to taste
– Fresh ground pepper to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Prebake pie crust by pricking the bottom and sides with fork. Line the crust with foil and weight with uncooked rice or beans. Bake for 10 to 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans.
In a skillet, melt the butter and add the onion. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.
Add the sorrel and continue cooking over low heat. When the sorrel is wilted, remove from heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and cream. Add half the Gruyere cheese and the onion and sorrel. Mix together before seasoning with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Layer the other half of the cheese over the crust and pour the filling on top.
Bake for 35 minutes, until set.
Serves 6
— Jen Keller, Pacific Crest Farm
