The Co-op Food Stores

added 06/24/08

Seasonal Fare with Flare
by Victoria Hicks

Known as stone fruits because they contain a single pit or stone rather than a core with multiple seeds, these delectable fruits include peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and cherries. During high summer, the lovely stone fruits beckon from our produce counters.

Peaches
Take advantage of the two to three weeks when regional tree-ripened peaches may be found. White peaches are pure nectar, as are the golden-fleshed ones, and all are perfect when simply chilled and sliced. Peaches are good with a raspberry puree as well as in preserves and pies. They take well to broiling, baking, or poaching, with poaching a good way to soften peaches that are hard.

“New Jersey white peaches are the best-tasting peaches in the country!” says my sister-in-law Megan Hicks, whose family is in the peach-growing business. Although not as big a producer of peaches as other states, New Jersey has a long history of peach production dating back to the early 1600s.

Slice peaches at the last possible moment to prevent discoloring. When peaches are really ripe, you can peel them by rubbing with the dull side of a table knife without breaking the skin. Add confectioners’ or granulated sugar to taste. Brown sugar or maple syrup is also good. Light cream, sour cream, and crème fraiche are natural companions to peaches. Once you’ve had a really good one, it’s easy to understand how this fruit’s name has become a term of endearment.

Nectarines
Like a fuzzless peach with a golden flesh, a lovely aroma, and a delicious peachy plum flavor, nectarines are best eaten as a dessert fruit with no accompaniments. They can also be prepared as peaches, using any of the recipes for that fruit. Look for well-fleshed fruits, not too hard, or they will take a long time to ripen.

Plums
There are several standard varieties of plums: the round red plum, the greengage plum, the tiny damson plum used often for jam, and the Italian plum which is purple and comes later in the season. Red and greengage plums are somewhat soft when ripe, while damsons and Italian plums are rather firm and have a more solid meat. Ripe plums are delicious eaten just as they are, and they are also wonderful poached. The Italian plums lend themselves extremely well to baking.

Apricots
One of the finest fruits when ripe, apricots should be tender to the touch, sweet, and full of flavor. California, Oregon, and Washington are all areas where apricots are available at their peak. Few fruits are better than apricots for dessert. Simply dip them in water and eat them as they are. They are also delicious sliced and served with sugar and heavy cream.

Cherries
California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of British Columbia appear to be the ideal growing areas for cherries, including the luscious Bing and Rainier. Cherries are wonderful when simply served fresh in a huge bowl and are a perfect dessert.

Rustic Plum Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

For pastry dough
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 Tbs. cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 to 5 Tbs. ice water

For filling
3/4 pound Italian prune plums
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. sugar

Make dough:
Cut butter into bits and, in a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor, blend or pulse together with flour, sugar, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and toss or pulse until incorporated. Add enough remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork or pulsing to incorporate, to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball. On a work surface smear dough with heel of hand in 3 or 4 forward motions to make dough easier to work with. Form dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Make filling:
Halve and pit plums. Cut plums into ¾-inch-thick wedges and in a bowl toss with sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.

On a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin roll out dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer dough to a 9-inch (1-quart) glass pie plate. (Do not trim overhang.) Spoon filling into shell and fold edge of dough over filling, leaving center uncovered. Bake pie in middle of oven 35 minutes. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake pie 10 minutes more, or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden. Cool pie on a rack.

—Adapted from Gourmet, September 1997

Clafouti (Cherry Flan)
Serves 6-8

The clafouti which is traditional in the Limousin (historic province in central France) during the cherry season is peasant cooking for family meals and about as simple a dessert to make as you can imagine: a pancake batter poured over fruit in a fireproof dish, then baked in the oven. It looks like a tart and is usually eaten warm.

1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups fresh, black sweet cherries, pitted (or drained, canned pitted Bing cherries)
1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a blender, blend the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour. Pour a 1/4-inch layer of the batter in a 7 to 8 cup lightly buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the pan. Remove from the heat and spread the cherries over the batter. Sprinkle on the 1/3 cup of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve warm.

Cook’s Note: A variation of the classic version marinates the cherries in ¼ cup kirsch and 1/3 cup sugar for one hour. Substitute this liquid for part of the milk called for in the batter; omit the 1/3 cup sugar near the end of the recipe.
—Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
by Julia Child

Peach and Arugula Salad
Makes 8 servings

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt (preferably sea salt)
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
4 firm-ripe peaches (1 1/2 lb total)
24 thin slices pancetta (Italian unsmoked cured bacon; 1 1/4 lb)
2 Tbs. olive oil
6 oz baby arugula (6 cups)
2 1/2 oz crumbled feta or goat cheese (½ cup)
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Whisk together vinegar, juice, and salt, then add extra-virgin oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Cut an X in bottom of each peach and immerse in boiling water 15 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Peel peaches and cut each into 6 wedges, then unroll pancetta slices and wrap one slice around each wedge, overlapping ends of pancetta. Heat remaining oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook peaches in 2 batches, turning over occasionally with tongs, until pancetta is browned on all sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered loosely with foil.

Divide arugula and warm pancetta-wrapped peaches among 8 salad plates. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with feta and pepper.

Cooks’ notes: Dressing can be made 1 hour ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. Peaches can be peeled, tossed with an additional teaspoon lemon juice, and wrapped with pancetta 1 hour ahead. Keep chilled, covered with plastic wrap.

—Adapted from Gourmet, June 2004

Peach Upside-Down Cake
Makes 8 to 10 servings

4 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
5 peaches, sliced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1-1/3 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. butter at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt 4 Tbs. butter and add brown sugar and blend well. Remove from heat and pour into a 9-inch cake pan that is at least 2 inches deep. Arrange peach slices in overlapping circles over warm brown sugar mixture.

Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in 3 Tbs. butter until soft, then stir in flour mixture, milk, and vanilla, and mix until flour is dampened. Beat the batter for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add egg and beat 1 minute longer. Batter should be like heavy whipped cream. Pour the batter over peaches and bake for 35 minutes, until top crust is lightly browned. Remove the cake from the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge before inverting onto a cake plate. Replace any fruit that sticks to the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

—Victoria Hicks