POACHED APRICOTS

Poached apricots make a delicious treat for dessert or breakfast, giving less-than-perfect fruit a boost of flavor. Dried apricots are also good served this way, so remember to keep this recipe handy all year-round. Whether you use fresh or dried apricots, the secret to poaching them is to let the fruit cool in the syrup for up to 24 hours, before serving them. Use any leftover syrup as a delicious addition to a banana smoothie.

1 cup sugar
8 fresh apricots, or 16 dried halves
2 (1-inch) strips lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. toasted sliced almonds

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar with 2 cups cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar discloses.

While the syrup cooks, halve the fresh apricots, if using and remove their pits.

Place the apricots in the boiling syrup. Add the lemon zest. Reduce the heat and simmer the fruit gently for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the vanilla.

Cool the fruit in the syrup. Serve the apricots, with some of the syrup spooned over them, and garnished with the almonds.

Each of the four servings contains 236 calories and 1 gram of fat
Source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research