If I were to fix myself a peach pie it would sit in my kitchen and call my name every minute of the day and on into night. Even with partial deafness, I'm sure I'd still hear those peaches whispering in my ear, begging me to come have just one more little slice of summery heaven. And that's pretty much how it would go until the last flaky morsel was consumed. Making matters worse, I would be the only one hearing that seductive siren call as Martin is completely immune to talking pies. Even if we had one he liked (and that would be cherry), he's that sensible kind of person who eats one slice in the evening and is done until the next day. Eating pie in measured moderation is almost like a superhuman power in my book.
I'm sure you can now see why it would not be a good thing for me to have a whole peach pie in the house right now. Remember, I'm the one who is trying to get control of some of my quirkier eating habits as I steer myself toward healthy eating and, please God, all the longevity and quality of life promised with such wisdom in food choices. Thankfully, Emily put me onto an easy little recipe that allows me to feel like I'm having a peach cobbler/pie without having to bake and eat a whole one every day.
When I first glanced at the recipe, it just LOOKED hard because there was so much text involved. To view this copious amount of instructions, I imagined that Deb must've started with telling us exactly how to plant the peach seed, watch it grow to tree, graft it at the proper times, glean the fruit and then start with the recipe instructions. All the verbiage aside, I couldn't believe how quickly and easily these little peach delights came together. And, best of all worlds, easy does NOT compute to not all that tasty. You know how you sometimes find a recipe that thrills your soul because it seems so quick and painless to put together but, when completed, you realize that it would've been a whole lot better if it had been harder but...well...better.
Not so with this recipe. While the topping couldn't be easier to whip up, the resulting baked peach is decadently good. Like having your own mini-peach cobbler, whenever you want it.
Almond-Crisped Peaches
Adapted from Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard
From Smitten Kitchen
Nigel Slater’s recipe is incredibly simple: almonds, sugar and butter. I came so close to following it exactly, and then couldn’t resist adding 1/4 cup rolled oats, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt, because I love all three so much in crisps. Consider it optional; the recipe works with or without them. Without them, the topping is more butter and brittle-like after baking; with them, it is still buttery and brittle-like, but with a little more of a traditional crisp texture and flavor. Both are magical; the peaches are barely sweet and taste fantastic with a dollop of creme fraiche or softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top. As for fruit, you could use peaches or nectarines with roughly the same cooking time, or try it with plums or apricots, or all soon, apples and pears. Feel free to try other nuts, too, any kind that you enjoy with baked fruit.
Slater recommends bakers sugar, which is sold in the U.S. as superfine sugar. I couldn’t resist going in the opposite direction, using coarse raw sugar (turbinado, often sold as Sugar in the Raw here) instead. Regular granulated sugar works as well. I didn’t try it with brown sugar, and suspect it may be delicious, but will not be certain until one of you report back (hint) how it holds up in the long baking time, hopefully not over-browning.
4 ripe peaches
1/3 cup (55 grams) whole almonds
1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
3 tablespoons (45 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Optional extras: 1/4 cup (20 grams) rolled oats, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, pinch of sea salt
(NOTE: I used about half that amount of rolled oats and at least 1/8 tsp of the cinnamon.)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Halve peaches and remove pits. Place fruit cut side up in baking dish. In a food processor, grind almonds and sugar together until coarsely ground (with a few pebbles left). Add oats and other flavorings, if using, then butter, pulsing the machine until the ingredients are just blended. Spoon the almond mixture into the center of each peach, then press it flat, as if icing the tops of the peaches with it. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (baking time varies with peach size), until the top is brown and crisp and you can easily slice through the fruit with a fork or spoon.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with creme fraiche, lightly sweetened whipped cream or even plain yogurt, cold, for breakfast.
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