I'm sure we've all jumped the gun on peach season seeing those perfectly fuzzy fragrant bulbs sitting in our grocers produce section, just screaming out to be bought. It's still a bit early in the season for peaches, so if you gave into the calling, you've more than likely ended up with crunchy fructose-deficient duds. But don't despair! Green peaches are actually delicious if you know what to do with them.
"What would you do with a green peach; I mean that's like wilted lettuce isn't it?"
Technically, if you're hoping for them to ripen in your fruit bowl, you'll be waiting a long time, since the sugar content of stone fruit does not increase once they're picked. What's more likely to happen is that they'll go from hard and dry to soft and mealy.
"So what do you do with them?"
Well, what you really have to do is shift your thinking a bit and treat it like a vegetable.
"WTF!?"
Think of it as a fragrant veggie that's somewhere between crisp and crunchy, and refreshingly tart with a mellow aroma. They're especially good added to salads and make excellent pickles.
"Dude, you're a genius"
While I'd like to take credit for figuring this one out, I actually got the idea at some restaurant out in Cowra/Canowindra (NSW Australia) or thereabouts. The salad and dressing on the other hand is a product of some daydreaming.
I know the flavors are from all over the place, but it works. I like the way the intensely earthy sesame oil harmonizes with the barnyard notes of the goat cheese and the floral peachiness coming from the unripe stone fruit. Likewise, the creamy feta offsets the tartness of the green peaches nicely.
So what unconventional ways to rescue an ingredient have you found?
This recipe first appeared on norecipes.com but due to its age I've moved it here to my personal recipe archive. Check out the full No Recipes Archives for more older recipes, or check out some of my favorite recipes.
Units
Ingredients
for dressing (enough to dress 2 side salads)
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or yuzu juice)
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon fish sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
for salad
- 1 cup arugula or other salad greens (I used baby mizuna)
- ½ peach green, peeled then cut into batons to make about ½ cup.
- 2 ounces feta cheese crumbed
- Black pepper fresh ground
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
- Lightly dress the salad greens, toss to coat then plate. Dress the peach batons separately, tossing to coat, then scatter over the greens. Sprinkle some feta on top then grind some black pepper. Serve immediately.
- Great with an off-dry Riesling.
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