For anyone who is also friends with me on facebook you saw how excited I was to find a mysterious new fruit in my local grocery store. It was labeled as a 'UFO/ Buzz Lightyear Flying Saucer' peach, marketed and grown by Disney. I googled it when I got home and found it to be one of over 200 species of peaches grown around the world. This particular peach, better known as a donut peach, is native to Asia. Generations ago it was a favorite among Chinese emporers because you could easily hold it in one hand and it did not drip juices into their beards. The varieties that you find here in the United States have been scientifically modified to be slightly sweeter than the original variety and have a firmer flesh to make shipping and handling easier. I sampled a few of these peaches fresh before turning them into butter and I must say the Chinese deities had it right. Not only did this peach not drip juice everywhere, the skin was very thin and had little fuzz making it very easy to eat and enjoy.
On this most recent photo shoot with Miss Theary, we multi-tasked and made several different dishes. I knew the peaches were something I wanted to work with but we weren't positive what else we were going to use. So, we stopped by a road side produce stand in my neighborhood to get some ideas. Turns out the only thing they had that we were interested in was more peaches. This time from Georgia, just like Theary.
While reading one of my many books on preserving food I came across some interesting information about fruit butters. The most popular and common would be apple butter. What I found most interesting is that there is not actually any butter in these products. In fact nothing even slightly similar to butter. They consist solely of fruit and sugar. For soft fruits like peaches they are first blanched and shocked (submerged in boiling water, then ice water) and then pealed and chopped. For hard fruits like apples they are pealed first, then chopped and cooked. Once the fruit is ready it is placed over heat and cooked until it is completely tender (easily cuts with a plastic utensil) and then removed from heat and pulverized. The trick here is to completely 'mush up' the fruit with out liquidizing it. I use and immersion blender, a regular stand blender would work also. Once you have the right consistency it goes back on the stove and the sugar is added. Heat until the boiling point is reached and then reduce to a simmer for 20 mins. Place the hot butter into hot jars, seal with a two part lid and boil completely submerged in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.
6lbs Peaches
4 cups sugar
This dish is obviously great as a breakfast or snack item but I found a way to mix it into a savory dish. This weekend was my belated birthday party and I celebrated in my favorite fashion by having friends over for food, drinks and games. I was determined to redeem myself from the mediocer chicken wings I served last time I had a get together. I stuck with the party/finger food genre but this time went with meatballs. And they were a hit! They were spicy, sweet and smelled wonderful!
2lbs lean ground turkey
2tablespoons curry powder
1tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1tablespoon fresh chives (minced)
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 jar home made peach butter* (or store bought)
mix first eight ingredients together and form into meatballs. brown on all sides in a frying pan with a small amount of oil. Transfer into a glass baking dish and cover with peach butter and diced up bell peppers. Bake until cooked through (20-30 minutes). Enjoy!
p.s. this recipe also makes awesome burgers, mix first eight ingredients and form patties, cook to order and add sauce to top before serving. Pick a nice hearty flour dusted roll for a perfect burger.
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