At My Table:
Sunshine in the Kitchen and Summer on the Tongue
Fruit is so wonderful in its natural state that you really need a good reason to cook it.
By: Nigella Lawson*
When fruit is less than perfect, for instance, it may require culinary improvement to be made palatable. When fruit is perfect, however, this round of recipes can amplify its essential fruitiness to sensational levels.
A peach picked at the peak of its luscious freshness is a great joy in itself, but all too often the peaches I find in stores are disappointingly sour and less than gloriously peachy. In this instance, though, there is a remedy: cut the peaches in two, poach them in sugared water with a vanilla bean and some lemon juice, and serve with good vanilla ice cream. Drizzle an easily made processor-pur»e of raspberries over the top and you will see why God (in the form of Escoffier) invented peach melba.
There is something truly transformational about this fragrant poaching process. What’s more, the peaches leach their summery fruitiness into the syrup itself, so make sure you do not throw away the liquid once the peaches are cooked. Either wait until the syrup has cooled and freeze it for poaching another batch of fruit later, or reduce it by half, allowing it to bubble away until it is a rich, thick coral-tinted syrup. You can cool this sauce, stick it in a jar in the fridge and pour it over vanilla ice cream whenever you like. Similarly, you can pur»e the raspberries, sieve them and serve them as a simple, vibrantly tinted sauce for ice cream without the poached fruit.
But come on! At least once, you must try this great, classic original. The mellow floweriness of the fruit, the cool, soothing sweet vanilla of the ice cream and the acid-edged intensity of the berry pur»e add up, on the plate, to something truly spectacular and reassuringly unfussy. It is an ice cream sundae of an entirely superior kind.
Now, I love cheesecake and I love mangoes, the mangoes best eaten in their natural state, and preferably in the bath. But the two together make a dessert that manages to be both comforting and elegant. The scented flesh of the fruit does more than add to the taste of the cheesecake: It transforms the texture, too. This mango cheesecake reminds me of those light French fruit-mousse tarts, with their glassy, mirrored tops. And the color! The radiant, golden yellow is instant sunshine in the kitchen, just as the taste is summer on the tongue.
Dealing with a mango in the kitchen is always messy, but the best way to turn the flesh into pur»e is to hold each mango over the bowl of the food processor and cut into it so that one of the cheeks falls away and into the bowl. This way, you can catch the juices in the food processor. Do the same on the other side -- that is to say, turn the other cheek -- and then retrieve both from the processor and cut or scrap the flesh with a knife, letting it fall back into the bowl, and discarding the skin. (You may find this easier to do by using your knife to score right through the fruit, then across it, at intervals, so that you have lots of little dice; then cut along against the skin so the orange cubes fall off. Then, holding the still fruity pit, hack at the wedges that cling to it with a knife so that they too fall into the processor.) In any event, the scent that wafts up even before you have turned on the motor is heavenly in its intensity.
I come from the country of strawberries and cream,
And crème patissière is not hard to make. With an ordinary custard, the prospect of its splitting is ever-present, but the flour in the confectioners’ custard makes it thicken easily and without danger.
What’s more, you can make it in advance, cover it (as explained in the recipe) and stash it in the fridge until needed. The sponge, however, needs to be eaten on the day it is made, and the berries spooned on top at the very last minute. This is not an instant dessert, I know, but it is an unforgettable one, the perfect marriage between texture and taste.
Peach Melba
Time: 25 minutes
For the peaches:
3 1/2 cups superfine sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
4 peaches, halved and pitted
(pits may also be removed after poaching)
For the raspberry sauce:
3 cups raspberries
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
Juice of half a lemon
For assembly:
1 half-gallon vanilla ice cream.
1. Prepare peaches: In a wide saucepan, combine superfine sugar, lemon juice, vanilla pod and 3 cups water. Place over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Raise heat and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat until syrup is at a lively simmer. Add peach halves and poach just until lightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes on each side depending on ripeness of fruit. Using a slotted spoon, transfer peaches to a plate, reserving the syrup.
2. Allow peaches to cool. Peel, and discard any remaining pits. Peaches may be placed in a container, topped with syrup and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; gently reheat in syrup before serving. (Syrup may be saved and frozen for future use.)
3. Prepare raspberry sauce: In the bowl of a food processor, combine raspberries, confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Pour through a fine strainer to remove seeds and transfer sauce to a small pitcher.
4. To assemble, place a scoop or two of ice cream on each of four serving plates. Place two peach halves on each plate and drizzle with a small amount of raspberry sauce. Pass remaining sauce at the table.
Yield: 4 servings.
*Nigella Lawson is the author, most recently, of “Feast: Food That Celebrates Life” and the host of “Nigella Bites,” on the Style Network and E! Entertainment Television.
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