A peach recipe with a thyme-infused red wine sauce, this luxurious but easy dessert is the perfect treat for anyone with a sweet tooth but little time.
To ensure that they are not overripe when they arrive, peaches are often picked unripe and as a result are usually still hard by the time they reach supermarket shelves. It is possible to ripen the peaches before eating by covering them with a breathable cloth (muslin or cotton) and placing in a cool, dark spot for a couple of days. However, they can still miss the flavor and perfume they acquire when ripened naturally on the tree.
This peach recipe is the perfect solution to those fruity issues: hard peaches become soft and edible in the oven; while overripe peaches that may have been forgotten at the back of a cupboard and are just too soft to eat on their own, release their juices. These blend with the woody thyme and red wine which reduces to a thick, sticky sauce.
Tip: This easy dessert calls for red wine, but can also be made with white wine. Peaches can also be replaced with smooth nectarines.
Peach Recipe with Thyme and Wine
- Easy dessert for 4 people.
- Preparation time: 15 minutes.
- Cooking time: 10-15 minutes.
Peach Recipe Ingredients:
- 4 peaches
- 3 oz / 75 g white sugar
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- ½ cup / 100 ml red wine
- Small amount of unsalted butter
Peach Recipe Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 390 degrees F / 200 degrees C.
- Wash the peaches and cut a circle around the peach stone with a sharp knife. Twist each half of the peach in opposite directions to separate. Carefully remove the stone, which will remain in one half of each peach, with the point of a knife or – if the peach is ripe enough - scoop it out with a spoon.
- Grease the base of an oven dish with the butter. Sprinkle the sugar over the butter and lay the sprigs of thyme on top of it.
- Put each peach half, cut side down, on the thyme and drizzle with the red wine.
- Place the dish in the oven and cook the peaches for 10-15 minutes. They are ready when the fruit is soft and the skin starts to wrinkle.
- Remove from the oven and discard the thyme. Leave the peaches to cool for a few minutes before peeling off the skin – you should be able to do this easily with your fingers.
- Divide the peaches between four bowls and spoon over the wine sauce.
- Serve this easy dessert on its own or with thick strained yogurt or creamy mascarpone.
Cecily Layzell - Cecily Layzell is a food and travel writer and founder of restaurant review site www.eat-amsterdam.com.
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