Sometimes you don’t need to manipulate an ingredient to get the most out of it. The simple roasting here gets to the best flavors in the apricots.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6 on it¿s own or 12 as part of a dessert

　　1 pound (454g) ripe apricots

　　1 bunch lemon thyme

　　Unsalted butter

　　2 to 3 tablespoons (40–60g) honey, preferably lavender

　　

Step 1

Heat the oven to 325°F or 300°F on convection.

　　

Step 2

Halve the apricots and remove the pits. Scatter half the thyme in the bottom of a baking dish. Set the apricots on top, cut side up, and put a tiny pinch of butter in each cavity. Scatter on the rest of the thyme, and drizzle with the honey, to taste.

　　

Step 3

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake until the apricots are just beginning to get tender. Ripe apricots will take 5 to 10 minutes; less ripe ones may take as long as 20. Keep touching them, checking for tenderness and springiness. Serve these warm or at room temperature.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__