Saturday 15 January 2011

CC Nigella's Sugar Roasted Peaches

If you have read my previous post, you will see that I am full of ideas for the Cookbook Challenge 2011 that I have just signed up to, but also a fortnight behind already. I was partly inspired by the theme for the first week - stone fruit. It might sound odd but I love stone fruit so much that I rarely cook with it.

I relished the challenge to cook with stone fruit. It is not that I never ever cook with it. I occasionally make muffins, chutney, cakes, and even the odd strudel or soup. But not often. I prefer to eat them as they come. We have recently had wonderful apricots from farmers markets that are just as I remember them coming off my nan's tree. This is the way apricots are meant to be eaten. Full of flavour and so soft and juicy they will drip down your chin and hands.

Ironically it is the stone fruit from cold storage that are hard and unyielding that need a little baking. So serendipity presented me with the Cookbook Challenge and a carton of hard peaches. I decided to find a recipe but all I wanted was a heavenly ripe peach.

I quite fancied warming them in the oven. I have seen such recipes with amaretti biscuits, honey and even basil to flavour the peaches but I didn't have much on hand. Then last night I found Nigella's Roasted Sugar Sprinkled Peaches. It was so simple that Nigella noted it was "scarcely a recipe". But recipes are really ideas and inspiration. This was exactly that.

It was a wonderful way to eat my peaches. Nigella suggested serving them with ice cream but we didn't even have that in the house. It was so simple I was able to prepare and eat the peaches while watching the BBC drama, Collision (which if you have watched it, you will know requires some attention). The preparation took nothing away from the luscious flavour of the peaches but added the wonderful sweet buttery syrup. Next time your peaches are rock hard, I advice you try this.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: A week of firsts
This time two years ago: Beat the heat with fruit salad
This time three years ago: You say biscuits, I say scones!

Sugar Roasted Peaches
From How to Eat by Nigella Lawson

peaches
butter
sugar (I used brown sugar)
ice cream to serve (optional)

You will need 1-2 peaches per person (depending on the size of peaches). Wash and half peaches. Remove stone and arrange peaches in a baking tray (no greasing necessary). Dot some butter in the hollow of each half, sprinkle with 1-3 tsp of sugar and dot with more butter. Bake at 200 C for about 20 minutes or until soft and yielding. (I think mine needed a bit more than 20 min.) Serve warm and top with a scoop of ice cream if desired.

On the Stereo:
God bless Tiny Tim: Tiny Tim

17 comments:

  1. That looks divine! I've never been a huge fan of peaches (part of the problem is I like my fruit really crisp, yet peaches are usually only flavourful when they're soft and juicy), so I really like this idea of bringing out the flavour and making the soft texture palatable :)

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  2. Oh, how lovely! I made something similar years ago (they were stuffed), but these really have the drool factor. : ) What a luscious sight to behold first thing on a winter's morning (and I like winter!)

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  3. Stonefruit simply prepared like this is the best!

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  4. This sounds like an awesome blog event! I always struggle to cook from my cookbooks as well.

    I'm with you on the stone fruit...when I have it around, I usually just eat it! Roasted peaches are just so good though and these look especially delicious!

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  5. Yum, yum and double yum!!!! Oh how I long for the taste of peaches after reading your post. I'm moving back to Australia and its all your fault lol

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  6. I love baked peaches stuffed with chocolate & nuts... now you're making me hungry! :)

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  7. They look really delicious - a great way of using less than perfect fruit.

    I love the idea of this challenge and might join in if I think I can get myself organised enough!

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  8. I too shy away from cooking stone fruit when in season. You have certainly settled a glow on the thought; I may be wrong. Those peaches look simply heavenly.

    Thanks for sharing, Johanna

    I'm off to check out those cookbooks I see peeking at me...

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  9. This looks simple and delicious. I really miss peaches. Here in New Jersey it just isn't worth spending the money on them in winter. They are simply not very good. So I usually do without all winter long. But I bet this would be a great way to salvage those sad supermarket peaches so I don't have to wait till summer to enjoy peaches again! thanks for a great recipe.

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  10. They look lovely. And I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to cook with them because you love them--I guy pomegranates throughout their season here, but I find I always want to just eat them fresh (and without any other ingredients) because I love them so much that way! It may not make for good blogging, but I do enjoy them. :)

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  11. Thanks Hannah - I love crisp fruit and will eat stone fruit crisp sometimes even though I know it should be soft and juicy. But when you turn it into dessert soft is excellent!

    Thanks Susan - glad these made you drool, considering that I took a quick photo and ran back to the telly

    Thanks queentisblue - agree totally

    Thanks Joanne - who can resist fresh stone fruit

    Thanks Chele - you know there are lots of peaches waiting for you back in Australia :-) but at least if you get the hard ones in scotland you can bake them like this

    Thanks Rachel - chocolate and nuts sounds like an excellent stuffing

    Thanks C - I had noticed you have your own cookbook challenge which I admire but I thought a bit more structure might help - but I like that the themes are fairly open

    Thanks Louise - how nice to have cookbooks just peeking out at you rather than trying to trip you up (as mine have been doing) :-)

    Thanks Rivki - seasonal fruit like peaches tastes all the better when you spend winter without them - I do the same

    Thanks Ricki - blogging does make me want to make things complex enough to blog and yet the simple stuff is so good - I almost didn't post this recipe because it seemed so simple

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  12. Delicious. This is exactly what I should have made last night when I had the post-dinner little bit of something sweet craving. Instead I ate chocolate. Fail.

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  13. It will be great with ice cream but gosh it looks good to eat without anything else!

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  14. I love baked fruits! These peaches look perfect, I am so much looking forward for the peach season to come :-)

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  15. thanks lexi - surely eating chocolate is never a fail :-)

    thanks Penny - I am not big on icecream but if I'd had some I probably would have had a scoop

    Thanks Monique

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  16. This looks simple, yet absolutely delightful! The beauty of simplicity. I'd certainly bookmark this, and make this dairy free (I'm dairy intolerant):)

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