Apricot and Rosemary Tartines

When I told you about the incredible flavour pairing that apricot and rosemary make last week, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. In the words of my classmate, “That was a party in the mouth!” I came back home and looked up my favourite reference book, The Flavour Thesaurus, and this is what it said about the pair (even though it spoke of dried apricots): When dried, apricots lose some of their fruity, lavender aroma and can become rather sour. Rosemary, reminiscent of lavender, restores some of their subtle perfume. This description was accompanied with a recipe for a Middle Eastern sweetmeat, Ma’mool, that glorifies the flavour of the two ingredients together (which is a recipe for another day).

With a loaf of sourdough bread and some apricots and rosemary from the market I decided to fix myself a quick fruity lunch of tartines. I set out to caramelise the fruit with a blob of butter, a little bit of sugar, some honey and lots of fresh rosemary. I cooked the peaches on a low flame in a cast iron pan and let the fruit break down gently, but not completely. I kept adding a little honey to the desired sweetness – the apricots I had were a bit tart. I let them sit it the pan to keep them warm while I toasted the bread.

Finally, I drizzled some good olive oil on the toasted bread, place two pretty halves of apricots on the bread and topped it with a little more honey. Right before eating, I mashed the apricots only slightly so they’d spread across the toast. Such a perfect little snack.

I ate the apricot and rosemary tartines with a bit of aged goat cheese on the side, but I can imagine it tasting so vibrant with some fresh goat cheese. Or maybe even a little bit of crunch from toasted slivers of almonds. I might just try cooking my next batch of apricots with lavender.