“An apple is an excellent thing…until you have tried a peach.” – George du Maurier 1834-1896
I’m all for making the most of produce in its season and can there be anything on our tables that says summer more beautifully than the blushing gold of a fresh, ripe peach?
How about starting the day with slices of cool peach on your cereal or with a warm croissant, brioche or even on toasted and buttered slices of fruit bread and what better ending to a summer lunch or dinner than a bowl of sweet and juicy New Zealand peaches?
I love Indian food and in season I will serve a bowl of fresh peaches cut into 1cm chunks with the drier chicken or beef dishes as a refreshing and interesting side dish.
Fresh peaches are so wonderful that it almost seems a shame to cook them but there are times when a bit of heat can perform magic. Halve and stone ripe peaches and grill on all sides until they begin to soften. Sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and chopped toasted walnuts and dress with vinaigrette made with honey, balsamic vinegar, a little chopped red onion, Dijon mustard and a light olive oil, seasoned to taste. Serve while still warm for a light lunch or starter.
It is of course on the dessert menu that peaches really feature. Probably the best known peach dessert is Peach Melba, named after the Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. Originally peaches with vanilla ice cream it was only later that Escoffier changed the recipe and added the now familiar raspberry coulis.
I was given this recipe many years ago and I still cook it, bringing back memories of an American summer.
Peach Cobbler
4 cups peeled and sliced
"2" ⁄"3" cup caster sugar
1tsp lemon zest
1tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp almond essence
1½ cups plain white flour
1tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3tbsp caster sugar
1⁄3 cup vegetable shortening – Kremelta in New Zealand
1 egg – lightly beaten
¼ cup full milk
Preheat oven to 200˚C. Grease a 2l (3 pint) baking dish. Put the peaches in the dish and sprinkle them with the "2" ⁄ "3" of cup of caster sugar, scatter with the lemon zest and pour over the lemon juice and almond essence. Bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile sift together in a mixing bowl the flour, 1tbsp of the sugar, the baking powder and salt then cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Lightly beat together together the egg and milk then pour this onto the flour mix and stir until just combined.
When the 20 minutes are up take the oven dish out of the oven and quickly drop large spoonsful of the dough over the peaches. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and return the dish to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the top is cooked and golden. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Serves 4-6.
This recipe is better known with pears but works just as well with peaches.
Peaches in Red Wine
6 peaches
375ml red wine
175g caster sugar
Zest of a lemon and an orange
A few slivered almonds – toasted
Peel the peaches and cut them in half, removing the stones. In a stainless steel or other non-reactive pot boil together the wine, sugar and the citrus zest. To this add the peach halves and simmer them for about a minute. Cool the peaches in the syrup and when cold arrange them on individual plates, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and decorate them with the toasted almonds. 
Eating is not the only pleasure to be had from a peach; there is the height of summer hedonism, the Bellini. It was created in Harry’s Bar in Venice and made of pureed white peaches and the Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco and given a slight blush with raspberry or cherry juice. Prosecco isn’t all that cheap in New Zealand and white peaches are not that available so I use golden peaches and Lindauer or similar and make a sort of Kiwi cousin to the Bellini…Bruce Bellini…ice cold, it is equally pleasing on a warm summer evening.
Another good thing about the peach is that it has a step-brother, the nectarine and just about anything you can do with a peach works with the nectarine too… so enjoy a peachy summer.