What I Really Eat: End of Summer Peach Compote

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"What I really eat" are my Iron Chef meals. My pantry meals. Shit, my fridge is empty meals. The things that come out of necessity and lack of time. The ingredient list will usually be small and the execution usually simple. Something that is less of a recipe and more of a guideline. If something exceptionally awesome comes out of my Sunday night scramble, it will get posted as a “What I Really Eat” and probably be accompanied with a not-my-best photo.

It happens to the best of us. You get cocky. You take it for granted and you don’t realize that the last peach you ate, that last really great peach, was going to be the last great one of the season. If you had known, you probably would have savored it just a little bit more, made it last just a little bit longer. But alas, that is life.

I get it. You’re at the farmers’ market and you’re like: psh...it’s almost October? Whatever! Look at all these bins of peaches, they have to be good, right? WRONG. It’s now the time to play end of summer peach roulette. Could get a great one! Could get six really terrible ones.

As I bit into a farmers’ market peach the other night (one of half a dozen I had brazenly brought home), I came to the stark realization that summer might really be over, and therefore eating really great peaches along with it. My peach was mealy and chalky and tasteless. I swear I almost cried. Boyfriend looked over at me and said, “what’s wrong?”, as my shoulders fell and I probably looked like someone had just kicked the cat, and then I spit my bite of peach into the garbage with defeat.

There I was though, half a dozen deep in shitty end of summer peaches that nevertheless pained me to leave to the fruit flies. So I fell back on a mantra that has gotten me through many a questionable situation: When in doubt, make compote. 

Would cooking these mealy, lackluster things with a little bit of sugar and some lemon juice and maybe a cinnamon stick save them?

The answer was yes.

End of Summer Peach Compote

Ingredients:

5 to 6 peaches, pitted, peeled and roughly chopped

¼ cup raw sugar or other sweetener (or to taste)

juice of half a lemon

one whole cinnamon stick (optional)

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring all ingredients to a light boil, stirring as needed. Lower heat to a simmer and let compote cook down, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until fruit has cooked to desired consistency. Remove cinnamon stick to serve.

Compote freezes well, if you, like me, have an obsession with saving some summer for later. I plan to swirl it into yogurt with homemade granola (via dash and bella) for the rest of the week. It would be at home on toast or ice cream or waffles or pancakes as well. Just sayin.

Makes about 1 ½  cups of peach compote.

Pickled Peaches

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Almost a year ago my boyfriend and I were visiting the fair city of Boston and true to character, the first restaurant on our to do list was known mainly for its burger. (jmCurley, if you’re interested in that kinda thing)

First, we ordered some of the tastiest whiskey cocktails we’ve ever had. Then, in lieu of a typical bread basket, what arrived to the table on the house was bacon grease popcorn. We could have stopped right there and I would have been satisfied with the entire excursion. But then in logical “we’re on vacation” YOLO fashion we went on to order an appetizer.

What showed up to our table went beyond all of my expectations. A luscious ball of burrata, surrounded by teensy toasts, prosciutto, pickled peaches, and microgreens all drizzled with a balsamic reduction. It began my head over heels love affair with burrata and introduced me to the pickling of peaches which completely blew my little mind. The burger, mind you, was also completely amazing and lived up to its reputation. But what I went on talking, thinking, and dreaming about for the next six months was that appetizer.

It became an immediate goal to figure out the secret of the pickled peaches. I imagined it might be hard, possibly involve a pressure canner or other unwieldy things that I may or may not have room for in my tiny NYC apartment or time for in my packed NYC schedule. So last year, peach season slipped right on by before I could attempt my hand at adding vinegar to sweet summer peaches and creating pickling magic.

The moment peach season arrived this summer, there was this little voice in my head poking me, tapping me on the shoulder, whispering into my ear as I stood over the peach bin at the farmers’ market. “Hey! Hey you! Don’t forget to pickle some peaches this summer!”

Turns out that it might be one the easiest things I’ve undertaken in the name of this blog. Completely easy and totally worth it. Now I just have to go get myself a big ole’ ball of burrata and re-live that appetizer from heaven experience.

Pickled Peaches

adapted from this Kinfolk recipe

Ingredients:

¾ cup white vinegar

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 cup of maple syrup or brown sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 whole vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4 ripe but firm peaches, pitted, peeled and cut into eighths

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat white vinegar, cider vinegar, water, maple syrup, cinnamon sticks, whole peppercorns, whole cloves, vanilla bean, and salt over a medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil and then let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile put prepared peaches into a heat safe container. When pickling liquid is ready, pour over the prepared peaches to cover. Let peaches and liquid sit until room temperature. Then cover and keep refrigerated.

Yield: 1 quart of pickled peaches. Will keep in refrigerator for approximately one month.

Baked Peaches

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I've been posting desserts that just take a buncha time. Like this has to chill for like 8 years in the fridge and don't worry, straining all the seeds out of this will take no time at all. No big deal. It's worth ittttt, I say. Blah blah blah. ((Wait listen….totally worth it --- both of them))

I’m just trying to make a point for today’s post. These peaches are the easiest to throw together and you need to make them right now before peaches are gone FOREVER.

You'll soon learn I don't lack for any exaggeration or excitement.

At first I wasn’t totally sold on them, I’m gonna assume because it was like 10 in the morning and it was already sweltering hot out and eating hot fruit first thing in the AM was just not my cup of tea at that moment. It was so hot in my kitchen that my cream wouldn’t even whip. Hence the barely whipped cream in the photos, but I assure you that was not the problem. I’ve been known to just pour cream onto berries just straight from the bottle.

What?

You don’t do that? You ain’t even lived.

Anyways. The point here is. Later on, after dinner, I ate one cold from the fridge (with just straight cream drizzled on top.) And if that wasn’t the most tasty, refreshing, lovely bit of dessert.

So really, these work warm from the oven or cold from the crisper. Will last in a fridge a day or two before topping starts to get soggy, but they probably won’t be there that long, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Baked Peaches

adapted slightly from this recipe over at smitten kitchen

Ingredients:

4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted

½ cup almond flour

⅓ cup coconut palm sugar

a pinch of salt

a dash of cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

Whipped cream for garnish, optional

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix almond flour, coconut palm sugar, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Incorporate butter into the mixture with hands until it’s evenly distributed.

Divide mixture equally among peaches, filling each of the peach’s centers and lightly pressing the mixture down to cover the peaches’ surface..

Bake for about an hour or until topping is golden brown and crisped, and peach is soft and tender.

Vegan or strict Paleo option -- I bet you could switch out that butter for coconut oil without issue.

Can serve warm or cold.

Serves 8