Tuesday 2 October 2018

Baked or Barbecued Peaches

It is really beginning to feel like Autumn, Steve stacked wood all weekend and the mornings and evenings have that indescribable autumn smell. However yesterday afternoon on my Patio it was 30 degrees, warm in anyone's estimation. San Froilan the Patronal festival in Lugo starts on Thursday and by tradition that is when we check our woodpile, sweep our chimneys, close our windows and prepare for cold weather. This is because, also by tradition, that is when the rain starts.

I thought that in anticipation of this colder weather, I would give you the last summer recipe of the year. This recipe works well on the barbecue or in the oven. I would advise using a cake tin on the BBQ rather than the tart plate I have used in the photos

You will need good ripe peaches to start with (Nectarines would also work).
Cut them in half and remove the stones.
This will leave you with a hollow bit where the stone was, you can make this hollow a little deeper with a teaspoon if you want it to look neat and tidy.
Into each hollow place one heaped teaspoon of butter, one heaped teaspoon of brown sugar (any that you have in your cupboard) and one tablespoon of liquor I use amoretto or an almond flavour liquor, but I think orange would work as well. The liquor will overflow a bit but that ok. Now add three tablespoons of water to the bottom of the dish NOT over the peaches.

Place on the barbecue away from direct heat and loosely covered with foil ( remove the foil after 30 mins). Or in the oven uncovered at about 180 C and cook for about an hour but check regularly after 40 minutes. All juice at the bottom of the dish should be syrupy and bubbly. The peaches should be soft but still holding their shape and brown on top.


Don't remove them before the edges are all caramelly dark brown. They should smell divine at this point.

Eat them hot with cream or ice cream. One of my Airbnb guests declared that this was the best dessert she had ever tasted.
On the grounds that it so simple to make it is one of the best desserts to serve to guests meaning that we all win.
On a final note don't make it without the sugar, it will work, it will be nice, it will give you a million points in the healthy eating conversation which you will be honour bound to have, but you will be missing the deliciousness and maybe even the point.  Either only eat one peach half or skip the ice cream, Yogurt even fat and sugar-free yoghurt taste fantastic with it. But don't omit the sugar.

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