Grilled Apricots with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar

Apricot season is in full swing!  Besides the 25 lb box we bought at Wolfe Ranch, we've started harvesting from our own 3-yr old Blenheim apricot tree.  This is the first year we've gotten a sizeable crop.  Yesterday, we picked three large bowlfuls.

That's because after finding half eaten fruit on the tree and on the ground, we realized we were competing against birds, squirrels, possibly even racoons.

Crafty critters beating us to the punch

Initially, we waited until the apricot was perfectly ripe before picking. But we've had to change our tactics. If, as the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm, we had to become the "even-earlier-bird".  We pulled out the ladder and went to town, harvesting anything remotely ripe.

We never had this problem with our apples, so we were caught a little bit off-guard.  Next year, we'll look into netting. Or as a friend suggested, perhaps we should build a scarecrow!

In the mean time, here's a delicious way to enjoy the season's bounty of apricots!


Grilled Apricots with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar adapted from Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life by Louisa Shafia
Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

Remove from packaging and place in bowl:
4 oz goat cheese

Let sit at room temperature to soften.

Halve along the seam that runs around the fruit and pit:
6 ripe apricots

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the grill or alternatively, use the stove and heat a cast iron grill pan.  Grill the apricot halves face down for just a minute, pressing with tongs for a few seconds to create grill marks.   Flip and cook other side for 10 seconds.  Avoid overcooking.  You want the apricots to keep their shape and not get too soft and mushy.  Remove and place on serving platter.

Place a spoonful of goat cheese in the hollow of each apricot.  Use one spoon to scoop the cheese and a second to push the cheese onto the fruit.  You can add a teaspoon or two of water if the goat cheese is too stiff.

Drizzle on top a few drops of:
balsamic vinegar

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