Peach Melba
Vanilla ice cream topped with peaches, fresh raspberry puree, and slivered almonds
City/Region: France
Time Period: 1903
Auguste Escoffier might very well have become a blacksmith like his father, but luckily for us, he was too small in stature for the trade. So began his culinary journey at 13, which would include running top-tier restaurants and changing the culinary arts forever. His book Le Guide Culinaire contains over 5,000 recipes and is still used in cooking schools today.
This recipe comes from a later book, published 50 years after his death. It’s made up of his memoirs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and includes peach melba.
This peach melba is absolutely wonderful. The raspberry shines through and the crunch from the almonds is really nice. The colors are beautiful and it’s a perfect summer dessert.
“Peach Melba
Choose 6 tender and perfectly ripe peaches. The Montreuil peach, for example, is perfect for this dessert. Blanch the peaches for 2 seconds in boiling water, remove them immediately with a slotted spoon, and place them in iced water for a few seconds. Peel them and place them on a plate, sprinkle them with a little sugar, and refrigerate them. Prepare a liter of very creamy vanilla ice cream and a purée of 250 grams of very fresh ripe raspberries crushed through a fine sieve and mixed with 150 grams of powdered sugar. Refrigerate.
To serve: Fill a silver timbale with the vanilla ice cream. Delicately place the peaches on top of the ice cream and cover with the raspberry purée. Optionally, during the almond season, one can add a few slivers of fresh almonds on top, but never use dried almonds.”
Ingredients:
- 6 ripe peaches
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) ripe raspberries
- 1 1/3 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
- Slivered almonds, optional
- 2 pints (1 L) French vanilla ice cream
Instructions:
- Prepare a pot of boiling water and a large bowl of ice water. One or two at a time, set the peaches in the boiling water for just a few seconds, then take them out and immediately put them in the ice water. Leave them there for 10 seconds, then set them on a plate. Repeat with all of the peaches.
- Peel the peaches. The blanching should make the peels come right off.
- Set the peaches in a single layer on a plate (or two) and sprinkle with the sugar. Cover them lightly so they don’t brown and put them in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Blend the raspberries into a puree. Press the puree through a fine sieve into a bowl.
- Sift the powdered sugar into the puree a little at a time, whisking until fully incorporated. Refrigerate.
- After the peaches and puree have chilled for about an hour, cut the peaches in half.
- Break out your silver timbale for extra authenticity (or use a nice glass dish like I did). Add a scoop or two of the vanilla ice cream to the dish. Top with two peach halves. Drizzle on the raspberry puree and top with the slivered almonds if you wish, then serve it forth.