Showing posts with label peach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peach. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Peach Basil Sangria
I have some friends who recently opened a pizza cart. Which means that theyve spent the bulk of the recent 90 degree evenings sharing 84 square feet with a 1,000 degree oven. Its hot, sticky work. The sort of work that requires a cold drink.Last night my neighbor and I biked over to share a pie, and I also mixed up a batch of Peach Basil Sangria to share as well. I saw the recipe on a blog a few weeks back, and just had to mix some up for myself. And Im very glad I did -- it is so summer. Its sweet, crisp, light, and perfect for the season. Make some before the too-brief stone fruit season is gone. If you have the patience and forethought, get your peach a few days in advance, and allow it to sit on your windowsill until it becomes obscenely fragrant and juicy.
Peach Basil Sangria
Gourmet Magazine, July 2005, adapted by notmartha.org, further adapted by me
This recipe calls for peach nectar, which is usually a hybrid of a neutral fruit juice like apple, and some peach puree. Many varieties are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, so read labels carefully if youd like to avoid that sort of thing.
23 ounces peach nectar (2 cans, or 2/3 of a Looza brand bottle)
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 cup basil leaves, plus a few additional sprigs or leaves for garnish
1 bottle white wine
1 ripe peach, diced or cut in wedges (depending on whether youd like it easy to mix into your drink, or easy to fish out)
In a saucepan, combine the peach nectar, basil leaves, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer, and then remove from heat. Allow to come to room temperature, and then cool in the refrigerator until fully chilled. When chilled, pour through a strainer to remove the zest and basil. Combine the strained infused nectar with the white wine, lemon juice, peach, and the basil leaves that you reserved. Serve over ice.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Kale Peach Corn and Feta Salad
My friend Emily often talks about being willing to "re-meet" someone -- to set aside earlier impressions youve formed (rightly or wrongly), and give people another chance to show you who they can be. Its a lovely concept. All too often we are boxed in by previous assumptions or rumors, which can keep us from getting to know some truly extraordinary people. Or, in this case, salads.
In general, I dont think of myself as a terribly fussy eater. I mean, sure, I want my food to be good, and made of actual food and all that. But my prohibitions are fairly minimal: I hate hate hate bananas. Im not too keen on cooked bell peppers, after their over-use in the college food service vegetarian menu. And I dont like to mix my sweet and my savory.
Or, rather, I thought I didnt. As it turns out, sweet and savory can combine into some truly great dishes. Im not talking about raisin-studded green salads, or industrial catering wild-rice-with-dried-cranberry pilafs (which might have been how I came up with this aversion in the first place). Im talking about a salad of drippy-sweet peaches, oh-so-green kale, sunny fresh corn and creamy feta.
I saw this recipe about a month ago on one of my favorite blogs, and pulled it out a few nights ago when I needed a dish to bring with me as I went to watch the local chimney swift migration with a few friends (What? Isnt that what you do on a summer evening?). I figured that even if I didnt like the combination, our potluck picnic would take care of any leftovers. But oh man did I love this. This salad was the perfect bit of Oregon bounty to accompany the natural beauty. The peaches are sweet and juicy, as is the corn (in a different way), but the deeply vegetal kale and briny feta tie it all together. And also, well, its just so pretty (using the purple-veined Red Russian kale doesnt hurt in that department). This salad is not the sweet-versus-savory fight I always fear -- its the very best of summer, from the trees and from the fields, coming together in beautiful harmony. I cant wait to find out whats going to surprise me next.
Kale, Peach, Corn and Feta Salad
from Last Nights Dinner, as inspired by a salad at Diner
serves ~6 (great accompanying a light pasta dish, as we enjoyed it, or just a crusty loaf of bread)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
dollop honey
salt and pepper
1/2 small red onion, sliced into thin half-moons
1 bunch kale (I like Red Russian), washed and torn into small pieces
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped
2 ears of corn, cut off the cob
3 peaches, cut into slim wedges
1/4 cup feta (preferably a moist, mild feta, like French or Israeli), crumbled
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, sherry vinegar, honey, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the onion, and let sit for a few minutes to mellow. Add the kale and cilantro, and mix well to coat with the dressing (I like to sandwich two aluminum bowls together, and shake shake shake until its coated). Let the mixture sit for an hour for the kale to absorb the dressing and soften. Then scatter the corn, peaches and feta over the top and devour.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Peach Lavender Galette
As Ive mentioned before, I spent years thinking that I didnt like pie, that it was a terrible waste of good fruit. Only to find that I like pie quite a bit — turns out I just dont like bad pie. Take a stellar crust (preferably all-butter, light and flaky), treat the fruit with a light hand, and you can end up with something truly delicious. Like this peach lavender galette.
I have long been a fan of mixing up fruit and herbs (beyond the token mint leaf in your fruit salad). Tired of making the same old blueberry jam? Add some sage or tarragon! Want your strawberry lemonade to have a more sophisticated edge? Muddle in some basil, or infuse some rosemary into the sugar syrup. Herbs can bring out all sorts of interesting flavors, as well as adding a bit of interest to the same-seeming glut of harvest. Its hard to go wrong.
And yes, a drippy-sweet ripe peach is summer perfection. But a peach lavender galette, softly scented with flowers and a subtle almond layer to absorb the sweet juices? Also amazing.
Peach Lavender Galette
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided, plus additional for finishing
1/4 cup ground almonds
2 tablespoons fresh or dried lavender flowers (divided), plus a few sprigs for garnish
Pastry for one 9-inch pie (Im partial to a half-batch of this recipe/technique)
4 good-size unpeeled ripe peaches, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the ground almonds and 1 tablespoon of the lavender flowers.
Roll out the pie pastry until its about 13 to 14 inches in diameter; transfer to a baking sheet (or, if youd like a bit more support/structure, transfer to a pie or tart pan). Sprinkle the almond mixture over the bottom, leaving a 2-inch border, and arrange the peach slices in a single layer over it, scattering with the remaining lavender flowers as you go. Sprinkle on the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, then fold the 2-inch border of the pastry up and over the peaches, pleating together to contain the fruit.
Dot the peaches with half the butter, and then melt the remaining butter and brush it on the exposed pastry. Sprinkle the buttered pastry with additional sugar, and then bake until the peaches are soft and the crust is nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, garnish with the reserved lavender sprigs, and serve.
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