Summer stone fruits–plums, peaches, nectarines & Co.
{juicy, aromatic, varied and wonderful}
With a rainbow of bright flavored stone fruits picked just hours before weighing down tables at farmers’ markets in my part of the world, the chef can be a bit lazy, needing to do little to coax out the wonderful flavors that Nature (with a bit of help of Man) has generously put into them. Each week in southern California seems to bring another variety or variant to the market, from the deepest red-fleshed plums and pluots to pleasantly sweet/tart yellow peaches and nectarines and candy-sweet, low acid white varieties.
A bowl of lightly poached and delicately spiced whole fruits topped with some thick homemade creme fraiche or mascarpone, or a simple free-form galette, with the thinnest of butter pastry dough partially enveloping the juicy fruits, will show these early summer beauties off to great advantage. Do ahead and no fuss, either treatment says “summer” in every bite. And if you’re in the mood to do some canning, take the fruits in a savory direction and make a big batch of stone fruit based barbecue sauce. Or if not, then make a small batch, store it in covered containers or glass jars and refrigerate. Use within a couple of weeks on anything from a grilled fat andouille sausage to boneless chicken thighs or a fresh hunk of salmon.
To recap:
Idea 1: For the medley of poached stone fruits, a small constellation of star anise, brewed black Chinese tea, fresh ginger, and cinnamon sticks each can play a part in flavoring a poaching syrup. Poach gently in simmering spiced liquid just until the fruits soften slightly. remove from the heat, allow to cool and then refrigerate until ready to serve. Or serve the fruits warm 30 minutes after they have been poached.
Idea 2: For the open-faced galette, make an easy pastry dough in advance, chill and roll into serving sized sheets (rounds, squares, oblongs, or what have you). Then when ready to bake, all you need to do is coat the cut up and stoned fruits with wheat flour or rice flour to thicken the juices that inevitably bubble up, sprinkle in some ground spices such as nutmeg and allspice to jazz things up, spoon the mixture onto the rolled out dough placed onto a parchment lined sheet pan, crimp to create a rough border and bake. Store bought ice cream will round out the plate nicely.
Idea 3: Take the fruits into an entirely different and savory direction by incorporating them into a seasonal barbecue sauce/chutney. Combined with an equal amount of fresh tomatoes, a bit of brown sugar and vinegar to arrive at a balanced sweetness and tartness, some chopped garlic and fresh ginger root, the fruits will lend a complexity that marries well with any grilled protein but pairs especially well with pork and chicken. So here I will be featuring a sirloin pork chop that has been slathered with the sauce during and then again after baking for a bracing dish with summery overtones. served with caramelized halves of any of the stone fruits which were used in the sauce, some roasted sweet potatoes and zucchini, the plate is full and satisfying. Serve any extra sauce on the side for dunking cornbread or toasted slices of a country loaf.
