Appetizers Canadian

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Apricots

Fresh apricot halves stuffed with goat cheese, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with pecans. Four ingredients, very little fuss, and the suspicious appearance that you planned your evening much better than you actually did.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Apricots

What It Is

These are fresh apricot halves filled with soft goat cheese and finished with raw honey and chopped pecans. The combination is sweet, tangy, creamy and crunchy, and can stay light or be wrapped in bacon when the recipe decides to abandon all restraint.

Origin

This specific version is identified in the Dinner by the Minute cookbook as an Alberta recipe. Pairing fresh fruit, nuts, honey and goat cheese also echoes much older Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavour combinations, but no single origin can honestly be assigned to the general idea.

Fun Fact

Goat cheese is often called chèvre, the French word for goat. Fresh chèvre is soft and tangy because it is young and has not undergone the long aging used for many firm cheeses.

Prep
15 min
Cook
—
Total
15 min
Servings
6 apricot halves
(double it if teenagers are involved)
Difficulty
easy
Gluten-Free
Diet
Gluten-Free
Away Mission
85 min walk
(or 12 minutes arguing with a Klingon about honour)
#alberta #apricot #goat-cheese #honey #no-cook #pecans #summer-appetizer

Ingredients

  • 12 apricots
  • 6–8 oz goat cheese
  • 3 tbsp raw honey
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • Optional: bacon
  • Optional alternatives: peaches, nectarines, apples, walnuts or other nuts

Steps

  1. Cut the apricots in half and remove the pits.
  2. Take a small amount of goat cheese, roughly the size of the removed pit, and roll or shape it into a small ball.
  3. Place the goat cheese in the centre of each apricot half.
  4. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
  5. If using bacon, cook it separately until crisp and add just before serving.

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Notes

If adding bacon, the original cookbook suggests frying it until crisp and serving the melty cheese mixture with crackers.

Nutrition Facts
Per 4 apricot halves
Calories 380
Burning this off: a brisk argument with a Costco parking lot.
% Daily Value*
Fat 16.0 g 21%
Saturated + Trans 7 g 35%
Cholesterol 35 mg
Sodium 135 mg 6%
Carbohydrate 62.0 g
Fibre 9.0 g 32%
Sugars 46.0 g 46%
Protein 4.5 g
Potassium 470 mg 10%
Calcium 60 mg 5%
Iron 0.8 mg 4%
*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. Sodium levels calculated in a country with universal healthcare — and it's free, so don't worry about it too much.
A genuinely respectable nutrition profile. No red flags here — go ahead and feel a little smug about it.

Substitutions

Use peaches, nectarines, plums, pears or apple wedges instead of apricots. Swap pecans for walnuts, cashews or almonds. Feta can replace soft goat cheese for a saltier version. Add crisp bacon or a smoky barbecue drizzle if subtlety has been cancelled.

Storage

Store covered in the refrigerator and eat within 1–2 days. For best texture, add nuts just before serving.

Freezing

Not recommended. Fresh apricots soften substantially after freezing and thawing, and goat cheese may become crumbly.