Trips to the farmers market always yield a treasure or two that aren’t on my shopping list. So when a vendor approached with a large sample platter of sliced, golden peaches I couldn’t resist. They were perfectly ripe, packed with flavor and dripping juice. Pie! I immediately started creating a recipe in my head.

This pie would be stacked high with glazed, sliced peaches in a basic pre-baked crust. The glaze would be simple—peaches, sugar, water and cornstarch for thickener. There would be no spices in this creation, just pure peach flavor. The topping would be whipped clouds of sweet cream—the perfect ending to a summer meal.

I headed to the peach stand and noticed that not all of the fruit was as ripe as the samples. It was a good reminder that even at the best farmers market, you need to select produce with care. The salesperson was happy to help me find the best of the bunch, explaining that they’d sold a lot that day and had brought out a new batch, slightly less ripe than the day’s first picks. Within a few minutes I was well stocked with about a dozen beauties.

Back in the kitchen, the peaches needed skinning—easy work with this blanching method, which loosens the skins:

1. Remove the peach stem with your fingers.

2. Cut an “X” into the bottom of the fruit.

3. Drop the peaches into a pan of boiling water for 10 to 30 seconds. They are ready when the skin around the “X” begins to curl. A ripe fruit peels more quickly than an underripe one.

4. Remove the peaches with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and further loosen the skin.

5. Slip the skin off with your fingers or a paring knife.

Fresh Peach Pie

 Ingredients
1 recipe  basic pie crust, pre-baked
7–8 medium ripe peaches,* peeled, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 recipe  peach glaze
~   whipped cream for topping (optional)

*Buy peaches at your local farmers market for best flavor. Supermarket peaches are often hard and tasteless.
  
Instructions
1. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the peaches and give a good toss.

2. Arrange one-third of the sliced peaches in the pre-baked pie crust. Spread one-third of the glaze evenly over the fruit. Cover with the next layer of peaches and glaze. Top with the final layer and cover with the remaining glaze.

3. Cover with plastic and refrigerate. Chill for at least six, but not more than 12 hours before serving.

4. Top with whipped cream just before serving. 
Yield: 1 9-inch pie
Preparation time: Approximately 25–30 minutes plus several hours downtime
Get a printable Peach Pie recipe and illustrated step-by-step instructions on How To Peel Peaches.
 

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.