Jersey peaches entice, captivate and make you salivate just at the scent of their aroma. They are summer’s greatest fruit masterpiece. One juicy, drippy, messy bite into their creamy deliciousness and you know for certain that no other fruit can match that same wildly sweet yet acidic tang. Not raspberries which I adore or blueberries or any the other stone fruit.
And, their peak of ripeness is so fleetingly short, just a few scant weeks. Then it’s over, leaving us longing for next season.
Peaches are exactly the kind of summer fruit that Alice Waters, the maven of garden fresh food, would single out with heaping praise. She should know. Waters gained her fame pioneering the use of in-season market ingredients and for establishing the restaurant Chez Panisse, where I actually once dined. She even penned a cookbook Chez Panisse Fruit, devoted to such summer bounty.
Which brings me to the connection between luscious peaches and the book “Sourdough” by Robin Sloan, the current Cook the Books selection. It’s true that as the title implies, this is a book about bread-making and I'm certain that other participants will wow us with their yeasty concoctions. So how do peaches and Alice Waters connect to that storyline? Actually, it’s not such a big stretch.
The lead character in the novel Sourdough, named Lois Clary, encounters the character Charlotte Clingstone in her search for the roots of her Mazg sourdough starter. In fact, this lovely novel is all about searching - for true self as well as true starter. Clingstone clearly is modeled after Waters - from her California wild-child past, to her eponymous Berkeley restaurant Café Candide, to her devotion to garden fresh food. Not to miss either is her name, synonymous with a type of peach. So the connection between Alice Waters, the Sourdough character and peaches isn’t much of a stretch at all.
I’ve enjoyed more than my fair share of peaches this season, thanks to living in Delaware virtually next door to the great peach orchards of South Jersey. Starting my days with a bowl full of diced fresh fruit partnered with yogurt has been heaven by the spoonful. I’ve also dabbled in jam-making, salsas and baked goods.
Being a baker requires following rules – not my strong suit - so I favor the simple approach. A tart or galette is ridiculously easy to prepare and just as delicious as pie. The fruit needn’t be meticulously arranged in concentric circles which is a lovely presentation but time-consuming. Another shortcut is the use of prepared dough rolled in a sprinkle of sugar. And unless pressured, I rarely peel the fruit, imagining that the skin adds flavor, and no one seems to mind.
In the tart recipe below, I paired nectarines with peaches for the flavor mix and their firmness. You also could mix in some of your favorite stone fruits or berries. Then sit back with a slice of just from the oven tart topped with a dollop of cream and a cold beverage. Can summer offer anything more delightful?
This is my submission to the current Cook the Books selection where participants prepare dishes inspired by the book we are reading. Our host this cycle, Debra of Eliot Eats, chose the book for its quirkiness, and certainly that it was, but also a thoroughly enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to inspired baked goods prepared by other participants, but I’m just not a baker. Please enjoy.
Peach and Nectarine Tart
Inspired by Alice Waters (Charlotte Clingstone)
The Pastry (if making)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
11 tbs unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
About 1/3 cup ice-cold water
1 beaten egg for brushing the top of the dough
The Filling
3 pounds ripe peaches and nectarines
2 tbs lemon juice
¼ cup sugar plus additional for sprinkling
¾ cup apricot jam or preserves
2 tbs almond paste (optional)
1 tbs melted butter for brushing the top of the fruit in the tart
1 cup crème fraiche for serving
Preparation
Make the pastry: If making your own pastry, start by pulsing the flour, sugar and salt until just combined in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the size of small peas, about 15 pulses. With the machine running, add half the water until a rough dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If more moisture is needed, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer the dough to a piece of wax or plastic wrap and press into a disk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Lightly sprinkle a work surface with sugar, and roll the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch thick. Gently transfer the crust, flour-side down, to a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Refrigerate while filling is being prepared.
Make the filling: Cut the fruit off the pit, remove the pit and cut fruit into slices. Place in a medium bowl and toss with the lemon juice and sugar.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the jam with the almond paste if using and spread on to the crust. Fill the rolled out dough with the fruit in a single layer, leaving a 2 inch edge around the perimeter. The fruit can be arranged in concentric circles or simply added on top of the crust. Turn up the dough edges onto the fruit, pleating as you go. Brush edge of the dough with beaten egg and sprinkle with a little sugar. Brush tops of fruit with melted butter.
Bake on the oven’s middle shelf for 25 minutes until edges have browned but fruit has not collapsed. Cool before serving topped with crème fraiche.
