At the height of summer, there is no better pudding than soft fruit served as simply as possible, perhaps with a very light sprinkle of sugar and some cream. The combination of juicy peaches and fresh mint is simply delicious.
Extracted from Daylesford Living: Inspired by Nature by Carole Bamford.
Serves 4-6
Place the peaches in a heavy-bottomed pan, big enough to accommodate them in a single layer.
Add the sugar, then add the lemon juice and zest and the vanilla extract. Cover with water and place a plate on top to submerge the peaches. Place over a low–medium heat and slowly bring to a simmer.
Poach until the peaches are just tender, about 10–12 minutes but keep checking them. Remove from the poaching liquor and leave to cool. Pass the poaching liquor through a fine sieve, then transfer it to a small pan and bubble to reduce the liquid to a syrup. Peel the peaches if you wish, then cut in half and remove the stone.
Gently fold the curd through the mascarpone (don’t over-mix).
Lightly dust the peach halves with a little icing sugar, then put them on to the griddle for 1–2 minutes, until charred but not burned. Divide the mascarpone between serving plates and set either two or three peach halves on top. Drizzle with a little of the poaching syrup and decorate with fresh mint.
Long before they reach the plate, our tomatoes begin in the warm soil of the market garden, growing steadily beneath the shelter of our polytunnels as the days lengthen and summer settles in.
There is a particular beauty to summer in the Cotswolds. Wildflower meadows sway in the breeze, village greens come alive with the sounds of the season – the crisp thud of cricket balls hitting willow and slow handclaps drifting across…...
