Oh how the peaches have been calling my name. Each Saturday I find myself piling those fuzzy little orbs into my bag. I’d been thinking about spiced or poached peaches for a while and then as I was flipping through Debra Madison’s Local Flavors I found this recipe simply titled “Spiced Peaches”. It included cardamom and balsamic and that just sounded too good to pass up.
One thing that always amazes me with the fruits and vegetables I pick up at the market is the color. I just never get over how varied and beautiful and unique something like a peach can be. This recipe takes very little effort but provides you with incredible flavor. Simply slice some peaches and add some sugar, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom along with a little balsamic and let the peaches do the work. Pretty soon the skillet will fill with liquid released from the peaches and it will slowly begin to thicken into a smooth pinky orange sauce.
Once you’ve let it cool, may I suggest picking up a pint of vanilla ice cream? Scoop yourself a little ball of ice cream and spoon those peaches over top. Oh the glory! What you’ll taste is a batch of softened peaches coated in a cloak of luscious sauce. They’re rich and velvety and have a complexity that somehow comes off as simple. And really, what could be better?
Spiced Peaches
from Local Flavors by Debra Madison
makes 1 pint
4 cups peaches, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
seeds of 3 cardamom pods
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
12 pieces candied ginger
1
Peel the peaches and slice 1/2 inch thick.
2
Place the peaches into a large nonstick skillet. Sprinkle the sugar over the peaches and add the remaining ingredients except for the ginger.
3
Turn the heat to high in order to get things bubbling, then reduce to medium and cook, stirring every few minutes, until the syrup is thick, about 15-20 minutes.
4
Remove from stove top and add the ginger. Let cool completely and store in a clean jar and keep refrigerated.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Oh, man, these sound so good! I’m heading to my local farmers market this afternoon, and if they have any peaches, I’m so trying this!
September 10th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Luscious and extremely flavorful!
September 10th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Those look heavenly. I love the fresh peaches and nectarines that are available everywhere right now.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Hi Kelly I just stumbled across your lovely blog! I look forward to reading through some of your older posts, oh and the peaches look divine!
September 11th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Grandma Sherman used to make these and bring them to Christmas dinner. Miss her
September 13th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hello! Just wanted to swing by and say hi finally because I used one of your recipes yesterday (chocolate cookies) and it turned out brilliantly. I read your blog all the time and love it!
September 13th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Mmmmmm…mouthwatering! I love this! I also love the summer produce. In fact, when I come back from the farmers’ market, I always lay out the bounty of fruit and vegetables on the dinner table to admire.
Great photographs!
September 24th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I just got “Local Flavors” a few weeks ago and was excited you tried this recipe from the cookbook. I just made it yesterday with some left over peaches. Oh. My. God. It is so good! Thanks for putting me onto this recipe – it would have been easy to overlook in the book!
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:57 pm
[...] recently, for my first monthly brunch this fall I did a waffle bar, and made spiced peaches as a topping. These were absolutely delicious (in particular on a cornmeal waffle — this [...]
April 6th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
and made spiced peaches as a topping.
September 25th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
[...] and half wheat flour, following the recipe in my Betty Crocker. They were topped with some of these Spiced Peaches I made a couple of weeks ago with the end of the fresh peaches. I haven’t tried this with [...]