FRESH APRICOT RECIPES

Steps:

• Halve apricots and remove stones.
• Combine apricots, water and lemon juice in large saucepan or boiler. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer, covered, 15 minutes, or until apricots are tender.
• Add sugar, stir constantly over heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil, uncovered, without stirring, 30 minutes, or until jam will gel when tested on a cold saucer.
• Stir occasionally towards end of cooking to make sure jam is not sticking. Stand 5 minutes before pouring into hot, sterilised jars. Seal when cold.

Steps:

• 1. Peel and roughly chop the onions, wash the sage leaves in warm water.
  2. Place a large frying pan on a medium-high heat with the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Tear in most of the sage leaves, then add the onions, the clementine zest, a good grating of nutmeg and a pinch of black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and fry for 5 to 10 minutes, until the onions start to soften.
  3. Meanwhile, trim the livers, if using, remove any sinews and roughly chop with the apricots, then stir into the pan. Once the time’s up on the onions, pour in the Vin Santo, turn up the heat to medium-high and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and the alcohol has cooked away. Leave to cool completely.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Whiz the stale bread to crumbs in a food processor then stir into the pan along with the sausage meat.
  5. Use your hands to squash and squidge everything until well combined. Put half of the stuffing mixture (around 500g) aside to stuff the neck and legs of your turkey, then pack the rest into an oiled baking dish (15cm x 20cm). Flatten the stuffing down and use your hands to almost tuck the edges into the dish to create a mound in the middle.
  6. Scatter over the reserved sage leaves and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil then bake for 50 minutes, or until cooked through, golden and bubbling.