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