NJ SPICE

Jersey peaches are great this year, so I’m having fun with them in the kitchen.

I thawed out some puff pastry I had stashed in the freezer.  You can buy an inexpensive version in almost any supermarket, but be aware that it is made with margarine (i.e. shortening), so I buy mine at Bon Appetit in the Princeton Shopping Center, made with butter, thank you very much.

I did not do any rolling out.  I unfolded the sheet, folded up the edges and brushed it with egg wash.  I slid it in the oven at 375° briefly (5 minutes?), just to set the egg wash a little, and then heaped peeled, sliced peaches on top. I was worried about too much juice, so had tossed the peaches in a little cornstarch. 

I’d made a mixture of crushed amaretti cookies (the kind you buy in a bag in supermarkets (look on the bottom shelf, or in the Italian section), cardamom, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  (The recipe for Peach Streusel Tart I was loosely following suggested their own brand of pastry, cookies, and different spices, but I had thoughts of my own, as usual.)

I put the streusel topping over the peaches, and slid it back in the oven for about 45 minutes.  I served it warm, with home made crème fraîche on top.  What you see in the photo here was not the whole sheet of pastry. I’d also used 2 squares for some short-cut shrimp newburg I’d made the night before.  A whole other story.  Puff pastry – my new best friend.

Oh, for all sorts of good information on Jersey Peaches, visit www.jerseypeaches.com.

And if you want to try a special peachy dinner, visit The Frog & The Peach, which each year offers a Festival of Peaches tasting menu, through mid-September when the season ends.  Double yum.