The fruit that brings some sunshine into your kitchen.
I measure summer’s success by the quality of the stonefruit – peaches in particular. More than any other fruit, eating them seems inextricably linked to the weather and the season itself. Despite this summer being a mixed bag of unpredictable weather, the peaches are magnificent.
On a hot sunny day, a fresh peach offers a number of colourful options: a salad of ripe red-skinned but yellow-fleshed peaches, grilled over a smoky barbecue and tossed with peppery wild rocket leaves, mint and prosciutto; a more gentle and elegant dish of perfectly ripe white peaches poached in sparkling elderflower cordial; and a classic peach melba, poached in a light vanilla syrup and served with a sauce made from puréed raspberries, topped with a sprinkling of toasted almonds.
After not heeding my own advice about buying only what fruit I need or can eat, a bowl of golden queen peaches lasted a week before I had a chance to use them all. I never refrigerate any stonefruit, preferring to store and eat them at room temperature. Peaches do not continue to get sweeter once picked so, not wanting to waste them, they were turned into chutney, fragrant with the merest whiff of ginger.
The inappropriately named black boy heralds the end of the peach season. This rare peach has thick fuzzy blue-grey coloured skin, and flesh the colour of deep crimson, shot with white streaks. Intensely fragrant and perfect for bottling or poaching, or served with a bowl of crunchy meringues and custard, they are my favourite peach of all.
That said, maybe the best peach I have had this summer is the one I ate just as it was, straight from the fruit bowl, leaning out over the kitchen sink, arms
raised to avoid the juice running into my shirt cuffs.
Elderflower ROSÉ sparkling cordial has been my drink this summer. Not content with just drinking it in a long glass filled with ice, I have also poached cherries and white-fleshed nectarines in it to make exquisitely flavoured desserts. Here I use white peaches but any stone fruit will do. You can skin the fruit after poaching if you prefer.
Elderflower Poached Peaches with Raspberries
4 ripe white peaches
600ml elderflower cordial
400ml water
200g sugar
jasmine or rose petals
Wash the peaches under cold running water and place them in a deep saucepan. Pour in the cordial and water and add the sugar. Bring to a barely trembling simmer and poach the peaches until they are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Test the fruit with a skewer – it is better to undercook than overcook. Gently lift the peaches onto a tray to cool, turn up the heat under the poaching liquid, and reduce by a third. The colour and viscosity will intensify. Cool the syrup before pouring some of it back over the peaches. Refrigerate until needed. Serve the peaches with some more of the syrup poured over and garnished with jasmine or rose petals. Any extra syrup can be refrigerated and used again and again; its flavour and colour will intensify with each successive use.
Serves 4.
Caramelised sugar, warm peaches, browned edges, buttery juices … tell me this is not one of the most sensual desserts you have ever eaten.
Baked Peaches with Brown Sugar and Ricotta Cheese
4 ripe peaches or nectarines
100g chopped almonds
1 egg
2 tbsp soft brown or light muscovado sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp ricotta cheese
1 tbsp icing sugar
juice of 1 orange
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the peaches or nectarines, cut them in half and remove the stone. Place the halved fruit cut-side up in a shallow baking dish. In a bowl, combine the chopped almonds with the egg and sugar, then add the butter. Mix briefly and spoon onto the tops of the peaches, filling the cavities. Bake for 30 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top is crunchy. While the peaches bake, combine the ricotta, icing sugar and orange juice. Serve hot or cold, spooning the buttery juices over the peaches before adding a good-sized spoonful of ricotta alongside.
Serves 4.
Come winter when the skies are grey and wet and I need a little sunshine in my day, this will be just the thing, served with a grilled pork chop.
Peach and Ginger Chutney
1 kg peaches
3cm knob of ginger
1 kg brown sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
1 small green chilli
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 onions
2 apples
2 cups spiced vinegar
Handful of mint leaves
Cut the peaches into thick chunks and discard the stones. Peel the ginger and grate it finely, then mash it to a wet paste with the flat side of a heavy knife. Put the peaches, sugar and ginger paste into a heavy-based pan and add the cinnamon stick. Chop the chilli very finely and fold into the peaches along with the mustard seeds. Peel and finely chop the onions and grate the apples. Add to the pan, pour in the spiced vinegar and mint, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a lazy and sloppy simmer, cooking for 1 hour until thick. Remove the cinnamon stick and pour into bottling jars. Seal and store in a cool dark pantry.
Makes 1 litre.
The success of this dish relies on the peaches being ripe and sweet, to offset the saltiness of the prosciutto. Use golden queens or yellow-fleshed fruit.
Grilled Peach Salad with Prosciutto and Mint
2 peaches (or nectarines)
1 small bunch of wild rocket leaves
handful of mint leaves
6-8 slices of prosciutto
DRESSING
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat the grill. Slice the fruit in half and remove the stone. Place the halves cut-side up on a baking sheet under the grill and cook until the tops are well-coloured and bubbling slightly. Remove from the grill and set to one side. Tear the rocket and mint leaves and drop them into a mixing bowl. Cut the fruit into thick wedges and add them to the bowl. Shred the prosciutto and add to the peaches and rocket. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar with the olive oil and season with a touch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Pour the dressing onto the peaches and gently toss together, trying not to crush the cooked fruit. Eat immediately, while the peaches are still warm.
Serves 2.