Thank you Flavor your Life & Moms Meet for sponsoring this post.

This Honey Roasted Apricots served with Greek Yogurt recipe is a light, summery and healthy dessert that is bursting with warm and inviting flavors. And if you are feeling indulgent, you can even serve the apricots with some vanilla ice cream!

Summer is the time when we experiment more with fresh fruits and what better way to turn them into a dessert?! This Honey Roasted Apricot with Greek Yogurt is a healthy way to treat yourself this summer.

It has all the goodness of juicy apricots and is warped with lovely flavors of star anise, honey, and extra virgin olive oil. As we all know, using good quality extra virgin oil is key to any form of cooking – be it a savory or even a sweet dish like this one.

However, whenever I go to the store and see so many options of olive oil – extra virgin, virgin, light – I get so confused. Which one is the best? I am sure I am not the only one. plus there is so much info out there that it can all be so confusing. That is why the Flavor your Life Campaign was created – to help consumers like you and me make the right choice when buying olive oil.

 

 

About Flavor Your Life Campaign

The Flavor Your Life campaign aims to educate North American consumers about authentic extra virgin olive oil from Europe and I was fortunate to have been able to attend it virtually.

They want to empower consumers by educating them about the rich history and delicious properties that these oils display—and sharing the delicious extra virgin olive oil culinary culture that’s been harvested in Europe for generations.

Through this virtual event, Alissa Mattei – an organic chemist and professional olive oil taster showed us the transformative journey olives go through to become luscious extra virgin olive oil.

What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil and how is it extracted?

Extra virgin olive oil is made by pressing olive oil, without heat or chemicals; it’s known as the first cold pressed olive oil. Since it has not been heated during processing, it retains its full nutritional value.

One of the best parts about this event was that they virtually took us to the olive fields straight in Italy and showed us this entire process – right from olive cultivation, harvesting, and then to the mill where the olives turn into oil.

To say that I was truly fascinated to see this entire process would be an understatement. My son loves olives (they are one of his favorite snacks) and I was so excited to see the olive oil extraction process that I even showed him this video where the olives are turned into oil.

Here are some of the key things that I learned –

• Olive oils are tested for peroxide values. Lower values indicate fresher oil and more rapid processing.

• Extra virgin olive oil is virtually free of acidity—below 0.8%.

• A panel of trained, expert tasters tests for taste defects and the presence of positive attributes of fruitiness, bitterness, and spiciness. If the oil doesn’t have the signature fruity taste and harmonious balance, it won’t receive an Extra Virgin rating.

• Extra virgin olive oil has a high smoking point of 400°F, so it is suitable for cooking as well as baking

How to Store Olive Oil

One of the most important things that I learned in this event was how to properly store olive oil.

I learned that between use, store your oil somewhere dark and cool (around 57°F, if possible), not on the counter or near a stove (something that most of us usually do), and never in the refrigerator. Keep the lid screwed on tight, and use your oil within six months of opening.

Recipes with EVOO and Sampling

Next, we also got to see three very interesting and delicious Italian recipes prepared by fourth-generation Italian chef Riccardo Zanni. He used Le Stagioni d’Italia EVO and Carnaroli rice. Le Stagioni d’ Italia takes great pride in bringing authentic Italian foods to its consumers and follows sustainable practices.

It was great to listen to some of the chef’s cooking tips and seeing him demonstrate his cooking skills with such finesse. As a participant in this program, I also received their Le Stagioni d’Italia EVO and Carnaroli Rice along with a few recipe cards.

The last part of the Flavor your Life Campaign was an interactive and fun session of olive oil testing.

Now I had heard about wine tasting, but olive oil testing? That was definitely new for me!
Using our senses of smell, taste, and touch, Alisa taught us to understand the intensity, the pungency as well as the different flavors that the extra virgin oil has. I had never thought of tasting olive oil the way she showed us and it was definitely a learning experience.

Now coming to this recipe, I tried to recreate one of the recipes that were included in my sampling package. It is one of the most easiest and delicious recipes that I have ever made and is certainly a keeper in my opinion. Even my toddler loved it and kept asking for more; so it is a definite winner for me.

The original recipe calls for 12 apricots and serves 4 people, but I reduced it down to 6 apricots.

I hope you give this easy and delicious recipe a try.

 

Print

Yum

Honey Roasted Apricots with Greek Yogurt

Ingredients

• Fresh Apricots - 6 (cut in half and stone removed)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Honey - 1. 5 tbsp
• Star Anise - 1
• Juice of 1/2 orange
• Pinch of Salt
• Greek Yogurt - 1/4 cup
• For the sunflower seeds
• Sunflower seeds - 1 tbsp
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F/ 200 C.
2. Place olive oil, honey, orange juice, salt and star anise in a saucepan and gently warm it until the honey is liquid. Set aside for 10 minutes and allow the mixture to cool down slightly.
3. Place the apricots in baking dish and pour this honey, olive oil mixture over the apricots (remove the star anise before pouring this mixture)
4. Roast the apricots for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and allow it to cool.
6. To toast the sunflower seeds - all you need to do is heat up the olive oil in a small fry pan and add the sunflower seeds in it along with a pinch of cinnamon. Stir continuously for about 4-5 minutes a nd then let it cool.
7. Serve the apricots with some fresh Greek Yogurt and pour the sunflower seeds on top.

Notes

You can even serve these roasted apricots with some vanilla or any other ice cream of your choice

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes

0.1

https://www.smilingnotes.com/2021/06/11/honey-roasted-apricots-with-greek-yogurt-facts-about-extra-virgin-olive-oil/

I hope you give this easy and delicious recipe a try.

For more inspiration on how to cook with extra virgin olive oil, check out these recipes that are shared by Flavor your Life. You can bookmark them for future reference. I will certainly be making more recipes incorporating olive oil in the near future.

Pin for Later –