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Published August 26th, 2015
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Moraga Farmers' Market Contest Elicits Enticing Peach Recipes
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| By Susie Iventosch |
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Each of the following winners of the Aug. 9 Moraga Farmers' Market Peach Recipe Contest included a paragraph (or two) about their recipe with their contest entry, printed below. Congratulations to all the contestants!
For more information on the recipes and contest, please contact the California Farmers' Markets Association. Phone (925) 465-4690 or visit the website: www.cafarmersmkts.com
Recipe Contest Results
Grand Prize Winner: Lizette Marx - Masala Peach Melba
Second Place Winner: Gwen Prichard - Peach and Plum Kuchen
Third Place Winner: Barbara Crawford - Peach and Bergamot Jam
Kid's Category Winner: Martin Bruschi, 6 - Organic Lemony It's-Not-Apple-It's-Peach-Sauce!
Honorable Mention: AJ Russell, 12 - Peach Salsa and Homemade Chips
Honorable Mention: Cyril Russell - Peach Donuts and Peach Compote
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Grand Prize Winner
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| Masala Peach Melba by Lizette Marx, natural chef instructor and nutrition consultant |
| By Susie Iventosch |
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| First Place Winner Lizette Marx Photo provided |
My great grandmother did not like to bake much, so she often poached fruit and served it with ice cream at the end of a festive meal. My mother made this dish too and it was nice, but a little ho hum. So when I was 16, I did a little research and discovered a great dessert made with peaches and raspberry sauce. The original dish was created in the late 1800s by Auguste Escoffier for Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. Escoffier called this dessert Peach Melba so it would never be forgotten. In this rendition, peaches are poached in chai tea, enhanced with additional Indian spices, dates, and warming tawny port.
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it is quite easy to put together and the resulting poaching liquid with the tawny port can be enjoyed as the basis for a tea cocktail as well as a reduction sauce, which is the way it is used in this recipe.
Yields 3 Cups
INGREDIENTS
3 cups water
2 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced into thin strips
Peel of 1 orange or 2 tangerines, cut into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
3 rooibos chai tea bags
1/3 cup port
2 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
4 black peppercorns
4 cardamom pods
4 peaches, halved and pitted (choose firm, ripe peaches)
8 whole raspberries for garnish
RASPBERRY SAUCE
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
Poaching liquid (above)
1 orange or 2 tangerines, juiced
1 teaspoon arrowroot
Method for Poaching Liquid
1) Add water, dates, orange zest, tea bags, port, honey, cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorns, and cardamom pods to a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
2) Add peaches and bring poaching liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until peaches can be easily pierced with a fork, about 10-15 minutes, depending on firmness of the fruit.
3) Remove peaches and place in a serving dish. Add fresh raspberries and set fruit aside. Discard tea bags and reserve poaching liquid for raspberry sauce.
Method for Raspberry Sauce
1) Add raspberries to poaching liquid and bring to a boil until liquid is reduced by half and becomes syrupy.
2) Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer, pressing raspberries thoroughly. Spoon out about 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce into a small cup and sprinkle in arrowroot powder. Whisk until smooth.
3) Add remaining sauce back into pan, followed by the arrowroot slurry. Bring sauce to a boil. As soon as sauce begins to boil, whisk quickly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4) To serve, place a peach into an attractive bowl or wine glass and drizzle generously with raspberry sauce. Top with a couple of raspberries and enjoy. For even more decadence, top with vanilla ice cream.
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2nd Place Winner
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| Peach/Plum Kuchen by Gwen Prichard |
| By Susie Iventosch |
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| Gwen Prichard in her kitchen Photo provided |
This is a recipe that my mother made for us as far back as I can remember. Would you believe the 1930s? She always referred to this as her "one egg cake," and it was served in a number of ways - sometimes with fruit incorporated, and at other times as plain cake with a homemade chocolate or caramel sauce poured over individual servings. My dad insisted on having dessert every night and this recipe was a life saver when my mother, a school teacher, would need to make something quickly at the end of her busy day.
My mother would have been pleased to know that her "go-to" dessert recipe is still enjoyed and is being shared with others. The day of this year's peach recipe contest, Aug. 9, would have been her 109th birthday!
Susie's note:
Gwen has always enjoyed cooking with her grandchildren, Libby, Hilary and Connor. Although they are mostly grown up now with Connor in high school, both girls out of college, and Libby soon to be married, they still come over to their grandparents' house for cooking days. They have been making assorted jams for Libby's wedding party favors.
"Every once in a while, we try something none of us has ever tried before, like samosas and sushi," Gwen mentioned.
Peach/Plum Kuchen
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup pastry or cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Peaches (about 4 large), peeled, pitted, and cut in wedges; or plums (about 6 large), pitted and cut in wedges (or a combination of both)
DIRECTIONS
Whisk egg and sugar together until fluffy. Stir in milk and flavorings, and then add the melted butter gradually, stirring constantly. Add flour, which has been sifted with baking powder and salt, stirring only until incorporated.
Pour batter into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan.
Place wedges of peaches and/or plums generously all over the top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar, which has been mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes until golden brown and fruit is cooked through.
Best served while hot, but is delicious at room temperature or chilled.
Can be topped with ice cream or whipped cream, but is excellent just as it is.
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Kid's Category Winner
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| Martin Bruschi's "Organic Lemony It's-Not-Apple-It's-Peach-Sauce! with Crispy Sage Topping" |
| By Susie Iventosch |
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| Martin Bruschi, 6, of Lafayette Photo provided |
Martin Bruschi, 6, of Lafayette, loves to garden, according to his mom, Sarah Bruschi, and that is what gave him the inspiration for his recipe.
"I just used peaches and something in it," he said. "Sometimes, I just pick the sage in my garden. I thought the sage would go with the peaches and it smells good!"
His mom said that he normally makes this sauce with apples, but decided to try it with peaches for the contest. It was also the first time he was allowed to use a "big boy" knife in the kitchen.
"I was really excited when he won," his mom said. "He's entered cake contests before, but it was so neat that this time he won something!"
Sarah Bruschi said that when he received his $50 award, he already decided that he wanted to go to the store to buy more fruits and vegetables with it!
INGREDIENTS
6 ripe organic peaches
Juice of 4 organic lemons
1/2 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon organic butter
Optional:
1/4 cup organic canola oil
6 sage leaves
DIRECTIONS
Juice 4 lemons. Set aside juice.
Cut peaches into large chunks and put in large bowl.
Pour lemon juice over peaches, add cinnamon and sea salt, and mix together.
Melt butter in a large pan. Add peach mixture and bring to light boil. Let simmer for 7 minutes. Take off heat, let cool, and serve while warm.
Optional: In a medium pan, add 1/4 cup canola oil. Heat oil. Wash sage leaves and pat dry. Add to heated canola oil. Fry on each side for approximately 2 minutes. When sage leaves are darker in color, remove them from the oil and let cool on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Crumple crispy sage leaves over peach mixture and serve warm.
Bonus: If you have more sauce than you need, use it to top ice cream!
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA