Some lucky summers, it can be all about the peaches! Here are four of my very favorite peach recipes. First up, a luscious peach pie, just fresh peaches in a light orange sauce and topped with whipped cream. Then a cold peach soup (or wait, is it a peach smoothie? you decide), a savory peach appetizer, and the oh-so-luscious roasted peaches, one of my favorite simple summer desserts.
Oh, do you know the muffin man, the one that lives on Drury Lane? You may recognize this old nursery rhyme but do you know the peaches man, the one at Kirkwood Market?
My nearby ‘peach man’ lives at CJ’s Produce where he sells sun-blushed Eckert peaches from now til Labor Day. St. Louisans are lucky to have over-the-sink eatable and pie’n’preserve perfect peaches grown just across the river on farms where fruit trees first blossomed 145 years ago. Lucky us, for a few summer weeks, life can be all about the peaches.
Fresh Peach Pie really lets the peaches shine. The fruit softens more than cooks. The light orange sauce deepens and brightens the peach flavor. It’s a winner.
PEACH APPETIZER
Just stir a few red pepper flakes, a couple of drops of Tabasco, some minced jalapeño and a fresh chopped peach into peach preserves. Spread over cream cheese or goat cheese and serve with thin slices of bread. PEACH & CANTALOUPE SOUP
In a blender, just mix four skins-on peaches, half a cantaloupe, 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, 2 tablespoons fresh mint, the zest and juice of a lemon, plus sugar to taste. The soup is especially pretty served in clear glass bowls. For a starter, top with crumbled feta; for a dessert, drizzle with cream. Or serve it in a glass, like a peach smoothie! ROASTED PEACHES
For a simple dessert, just put a teaspoon of brown sugar and butter into peach halves, top with a little cinnamon, a sprinkle of good salt and a few strands of fresh basil. Roast for 20 minutes at 350F, then top with a tiny spoon of sour cream. Peach-licious!FRESH PEACH PIE
Time to table: 2 – 3 hours
Serves 8
- 1 pre-baked pie crust (such as Flaky Tender Pie Crust)
- Water to cover
- 6 peaches
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Zest of an orange
- 1 cup orange juice (fresh-squeezed is wonderful)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
-
TOPPING
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Two or three at a time, drop peaches into boiling water for 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon, let cool. Slice to the pit lengthwise, slip off skins. Slice each half into six pieces, then halve the pieces.
Meanwhile, stir together sugar, cornstarch and zest in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Slowly stir in orange juice and cook til thickened, stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in butter and extract. Gently combine with peaches and turn into pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours.
Just before serving, whip cream with an electric mixer. While still beating, slowly add sugar and extract, then beat til stiff peaks form. Spoon into a freezer bag, snip off a corner and squeeze whipped cream decoratively onto the pie.
A Festival of Peaches
Recent Recipes from A Veggie Venture
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yes, it's dessert!
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If you like Kitchen Parade's recipes, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, visit A Veggie Venture, my food blog, home to the Alphabet of Vegetables where there's a vegetable in every recipe and vegetables in every course.
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Your Comments:
I dorked up the sauce (used lemon zest instead of orange, used vanilla extract instead of almond, added a dash of cardamom because I saw it while looking for almond extract, and turned on the burner under the sugar/cornstarch/zest before referring a fight between the kids) but it STILL tasted terrific!
Nice way to use up the last of the half bushel of peaches I picked up at the farm stand on the way home from the beach.
kirsten