MBP Photograhy
Raspberry-peach crumble
If summer came in deep pie dish, we imagine it would taste a lot like this delicious dessert.
Photo by Mark Boughton courtesy of Gibbs Smith
Serves 8
Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Filling
6–8 peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 pint raspberries
½ lemon, juiced
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, salt and butter. Using clean hands, rub together ingredients until mixture sticks together in small clumps.
Into a deep pie dish, arrange peaches and raspberries. Sprinkle with lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch and toss thoroughly. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and juices are bubbling up through the topping, 45–50 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature
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Tips and techniques
Frozen can be as good as fresh
If you want to enjoy the experience of biting into a “fresh” peach in the dead of winter, or want the flavor and consistency of fresh peaches in sweet or savory recipes year-round, frozen peaches are a fantastic option. When you thaw them, it’s just like biting into a fresh peach—they taste just like peaches picked off the tree. Here’s how to freeze them at home.
Line sheet pans (as many as you need to hold your peaches and will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper. Peel peaches (or not) and slice, quarter or halve. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Spread on sheet pans. Put in freezer and allow peaches to harden—at least 4 hours or more. Remove from freezer. Seal peaches in Ziploc or vacuum-sealed bags and return to freezer. If you use a Ziploc bag, the peaches should be consumed within one year. Peaches in vacuum-sealed bags can last up to three years.
For baking, do not thaw the peaches—use in the frozen state. To eat or use in cooked dishes, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Peeling made easy
It doesn’t surprise me that “Give peaches the slip” is one of my most popular how-to cooking videos. This time-saving trick takes all the hassle out of peeling ripe peaches for canning, cooking, eating and baking.
Bring a pot of water to a low boil. Use a knife to score (cut an “x”) into the bottom point of each peach, then place the peaches into the hot water for about one minute. Remove peaches from the water with a slotted spoon and place them into an ice bath. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to slide the peels off with your fingers in a matter of seconds.
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Related story
Everything’s Just Peachy—Enjoy six delicious dessert recipes from Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan’s first cookbook, Just Peachy.