my new inspiration – passioneats

When Gourmet folded in 2009, my heart broke. That magazine had been a fixture in my home my whole life. It educated me, inspired me, and helped me to develop a lifelong passion for food and the culture of food. I resisted replacing my beloved with a subscription to Bon Appetit, Conde Nast’s offered substitution, because I felt it was an inferior magazine. And I was mad. But recently a new editor, Adam Rapoport, took over the helm of BA and has reinvigorated its pages. With its new design and direction, I found myself irresistibly drawn to it. I thumbed through a few issues, then finally caved in and ponied up my subscription. And let me just say how glad I am that I did. The newly revamped magazine is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor; it is filled with inspired recipes and articles that reflect the trends of the culinary world today. It offers a more relatable, passionate, and even fashionable approach to cooking, with gorgeous photography thrown in to tantalize.

Here’s a case in point: this recipe comes from the pages of the August issue–an offering authored by chefs Jean Georges Vongerichten and Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen. Their farm to table philosophy is about maximizing flavors while simplifying technique–an approach which I whole-heartedly support. When I saw a bushel of these gorgeous local apricots at my market, I couldn’t resist employing them in my adaption of their dessert. This dish is a study in simplicity and combining interesting flavors to great result.

Apricot Tarragon Compote with Honey Vanilla Mascarpone

So easy, yet so sophisticated, this dessert is sumptuous and its flavors are a bit unusual. The compote is rich with succulent apricots, hit with the sweet and floral notes of St-Germain elderflower liqueur and accented with the licorice perfume of tarragon. Tangy and creamy mascarpone, sweetened with honey and vanilla, makes a lovely accompaniment.

Halve and pit the apricots. Combine them with lime juice and sugar in a large skillet and cook over medium heat.

Toss gently until apricots begin to soften and turn syrupy. Nestle tarragon sprigs in with the apricots as they cook. Turn off the heat and add the St-Germain liqueur to the syrup. Swirl around in the pan and cook with the residual heat.

In a small bowl, mix the mascarpone with honey and the seeds scraped from the inside of half a vanilla bean.

Serve a dollop of the mascarpone in a shallow bowl and top with the apricot compote, drizzling the syrup over all. Garnish with tarragon leaves. To add a little texture and crunch, crumble an amaretti cookie in the bowl and serve immediately with a big fat spoon.

Adapted from Bon Appetit/ABC Kitchen
Serves 4 to 6:

1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons sugar, preferably turbinado (raw)
2 tarragon sprigs, plus more leaves for garnish
1 tablespoon St-Germain liqueur
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon honey
scraped seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
amaretti cookies

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