Ginger Meets Peaches
15 October 2007
I have so far mostly used ginger for savoury dishes such as vegetable sauces accompanying meat or fish. But thinking of lovely ginger cookies it should actually not be so far-fetched to use this flavour for desserts. I am not so much a friend of too heavy or too sweet desserts and often choose a fruity option. Here I opted for peaches, which for this recipe should be tasty but not too ripe, as the slices should remain in shape even after being blanched. Adding some ginger to the simmering peaches gave them a really spicy edge, which I again smoothened by adding some vanilla. I found the overall taste exceptionally harmoneous and will certainly use this combination again. And, as I absolutely adore nuts, I garnished the dessert with some whipped cream mixed with ground hazelnuts, which for me was the icing on the cake.
The recipe is (except for the cream...) quite light and fruity and also not too complex to prepare; in fact the most laborious step is peeling and slicing the peaches, which can be a bit of a mess, especially if they are too ripe.
Ginger Peaches with Hazelnut Cream
| serves 4 |
| 4 peaches |
| 2 packages of vanilla sugar |
| fresh ginger |
| 250ml whipping cream |
| 50g ground hazelnuts |
| a dash of contreau |
| some lemon juice |
Peel the peaches and cut them into thin slices. To keep the mess in the kitchen manageable I first of all cut them in half, removed the stone, then peeled the halves and lastly sliced them; if you peel them first and try to remove the stones second the peaches are far more difficult to handle. It also helps if the peaches are not overly ripe (they should of course not be green, either), otherwise it will be hard to cut them into neat slices.
Take a ginger root of about 2cm in diameter and cut off a slice of approximately 1cm; peel it and dice it finely to pieces of 1-2mm.
Blanch the peach slices (i.e. let them cook briefly in some boiling liquid) together with the vanilla sugar (make sure you take the one made with REAL vanilla, not just aroma), the ginger, some water (just enough to cover the base of your pot or pan) and the cointreau. If the peaches are very sweet, use some lemon juice instead of water. After about 5 minutes turn off the heat and let the peaches cool down in their juice.
To serve arrange the peach slices on desert plates and sprinkle with the juice. Garnish the dish with some whipped cream mingled with ground hazelnuts.
| Suggestions for Starters |
|---|
