Dear Sydney summer, you suck.
You’ve been blisteringly hot or rainy and cold all season, with barely enough decent beach days to count on two hands since you began.
And lately? Well it seems you think we all enjoy the frizzy hair and sweaty faces that accompany 80%+ humidity.
Well guess what, we don’t.
Yes, yes, I sound all first world problems and all but seriously, what’s the point of living here — with the over-priced fomo food fads and heart breakingly expensive real-estate — if not for nice summers and mild winters?
Never mind that last winter was anything but mild, that’s a whinge for another day, because today we have one of the only good things about this summer…
A glut of sweet peaches swimming in Amaretto.
The main flush of Aussie stonefruit hit around the holidays and while I did my best to simply eat every peach and nectarine I could get my hands on I may have been a touch overzealous with my acquisition of buckets of fruit.
Pie was a contender to handle the overflow — but really, unless it’s for a special Christmas morning treat, who can be bothered to turn on the oven in the middle of the summer?
So instead I cut a small ( X ) in the base of a gaggle of white and yellow peaches (and perhaps a few nectarines), plunged them briefly in boiling water then ice water, slipped off the skins, chopped them up and doused them in almond-flavoured liquor.
I took a big bowl to a Christmas gathering (suggested they be spooned onto ham rolls and blew people’s minds just a bit) and kept some at home for eating over everything from porridge to ice cream.
The good news is that if you’re sweating away the days in Sydney the end of peach season is still holding on and you can make these this weekend. And if you’re shovelling snow in the Northern Hemisphere and cursing me while wishing for even an hour of summer heat you can pin this now and make it as soon as the peaches hit shelves. At the rate this year is flying by it won’t be long…
Amaretto Peaches
Sweet stone fruit swimming in almond liquor and spiked with herbal thyme — now that’s summer perfection.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 peaches or nectarines
- juice & zest from 1 lemon
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 Tbsp amaretto (30ml), or 2 – 3 tsp almond essence for an alcohol-free version
- good pinch sea salt
METHOD
Bring a pot of water to the boil, cut a shallow X into the base of each peach. Drop fruit into water a few at a time and simmer 60 seconds, remove and plunge into cold water.
Slip skins off flesh, cut each peach into eight wedges and each wedge into two or three pieces. Discard skins and stones, place fruit into a bowl or large jar.
Stir lemon juice, zest, amaretto, thyme and salt through peaches. Set aside to marinate for 30 mins before serving.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
- as a relish with ham, turkey, chicken, fish or grilled veggies — also, this on haloumi would be stunning
- as a topping for tea cake or ice cream
- mixed through porridge
- spooned into mini tart shells
- drizzled into a glass of sparkling wine or water
- eaten with a spoon while standing at the fridge (or maybe that’s just me)
vegetarian // vegan // gluten-free // dairy-free // soy-free
Was just chatting with a Sydney-sider who was entertaining real fantasies about migrating south to Radelaide, purely because they could never afford to buy a tiny unit, let alone a house anywhere within 2 hours of the CBD! … and yes, peaches soaked in alcohol might help one forget one’s summer woes! 😉
Anything amaretto soaked works for me – but peaches with haloumi is blowing my mind a bit and is going on the to-do list.
Thinking of you.
Summer perfection is right! Oh my gosh JJ, these little cups of bliss NEED to be made before peaches disappear for another year! Love the serving suggestions – I can definitely imagine the halloumi and/or fridge ideas, haha! Beautiful post xx