Posts Tagged ‘Nectarines’
Nectarines
July 29th, 2011 | 
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Taste: Yellow nectarines have the intense flavour of a peach but a firmer texture and just the right amount of juice. Very sweet, but with a tart edge that makes them great enjoyed on their own, tossed in salads or baked in cakes and crumbles.
Region: Our nectarines are from Emilia Romagna in Italy, a region renowned for its production of beautiful summer fruits.
Quality: We buy our nectarines twice a week from the market in Milan. As opposed to the supermarket varieties, you can rest assured these nectarines will get to you at the perfect point of ripeness. Nectarines are at their peak now, so take advantage!
Cost: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. Our nectarines are not only superior in quality, but they are also better value than what is usually found in the supermarket:
Natoora “Nectarines“ 90p each, £6/kg
Ocado “Perfectly Ripe Nectarines”, £1 each
Abel & Cole “Nectarines” £7.98/kg
(prices checked on 28/7/2011)
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Nectarines poached in white wine
This week’s seasonal recipe comes courtesy of L’atelier des Chefs. This fantastic London cookery school runs a variety of classes for all levels, taught by professional chefs and using great seasonal ingredients. Some of you may have been to our sponsored classes there, which will return in late September. For now, try their delicious poached nectarines for a true taste of summer:
6 nectarines
1 star anise
1 vanilla pod
1 orange
250ml water
250ml dry white wine
200g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
100g ground almonds
100g plain flour
150g creme fraiche
Preheat the oven to 180C
Cut the nectarines in half and remove the stones. Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Zest and juice the orange.
For the almond crunch: place the butter, 100g caster sugar, ground almonds and flour in a bowl and crumble it between your fingers until well combined. Spread the crumble mix on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 12 minutes until golden brown.
For the nectarines: place the water, the other 100g caster sugar, orange juice, orange zest and white wine in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the star anise and the vanilla seeds to the pan. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and add the nectarines. Poach the nectarines for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove the fruit from the pan and allow to cool.
Serve the nectarines in a fluted glass with a dollop of creme fraiche and finish with the almond crunch.
Chef’s tip: This recipe is also delicious made with fresh peaches instead of nectarines.
Nectarine Strudels
Juicy, sweet nectarines are a fantastic summer treat. We love both the yellow and white varieties on offer at the markets in Italy. Try them in this tasty strudel as a delicious alternative to apples…
Makes 2 small strudels
1 sheet of ready puff pastry, around 350g
100g of creme fraiche
2 nectarines, thinly sliced
40g of red currants or blueberries
4 tbsp sugar
icing sugar for decoration
Roll out the puff pastry, but keep it on its paper. Place it horizontally (with the long side facing you). Cut in 4 sections, making sure not to cut the paper. Puncture the two sections on your left hand side with a fork, slit across the shorter side the other two sections with a knife, but do not cut too close to the edges. These are going to be the tops of your strudels.
Spread some crème fraiche on the bottom sections, then arrange the nectarine slices making sure you leave enough space on the edge to seal afterwards. Dust with the sugar, put more crème fraiche, then the berries on top.
Fold the right hand side of pastry over the left one, and carefully peel off the paper. Cut the extra paper so that you are only left with the one in the bottom. Seal the edges of your strudels with a fork and transfer on a baking tray.
Cook at 200*C in the bottom half of a preheated oven for 20 minutes.
Dust with icing sugar and serve once cooled.