SoLetsPigOut: Cider-poached peaches with whipped ricotta

Hi!

Before I put myself in social situations, I like to imagine myself in them. I think about what I’d say more than I bother about what I’d wear. I try to figure out what I would say should certain subjects come up and never once do I give myself credit for my ability to actually hold my own in a conversation.

Truth is, I’m so good at it. I know things…so many things. Sure, not all the things I know are on a scholarly level but I can talk without once saying the phrase “that documentary on Netflix”. For all the things I don’t trust myself with, food isn’t one of them.

YES! I can talk about food, say all my favourite foods in order of importance (idli-sambar is #1, just so you know) and talk about the things I’d like to make if only those magically-appearing dishes would do me a favour and not show themselves for a while. I love food, I love eating and I love reading about food while eating it. In short, it’s right up my alley. And guess what?! There are so many who are just like me.

Yay. #Soletspigout. A crazy creative food blogger duo (her and her) decided that it’s summer and what the heck?! Margaritas! But once that was done, they put together a virtual potluck, where we sort of don’t hangout in person but we pretend that we do and make fooooods that we want to stuff our gobs with.

Which makes me wish I could be sitting around with a bunch of food-loving hippy dippys in the summer at a giant potluck. Now see, I could find a million things to talk to them about.

Mostly cake.

PS: I still miss my baby cat very, very much. If you knew her, you’d know she’d run right away from (un)complicated cat-situations. For example: Touching, approaching her, touching and other human behavioural tendencies we impose on our pet cats. This post is me letting her be. She was always her own cat. They usually are…but she was me and I will be fine.

In Goa we wait for it to be mango season but we don’t very much care for the humidity that accompanies it. Fruit of every colour exists just to cool us all off. For every second we step out of our homes, there exists the sweetest watermelon just for us. Grapes, yes please. I thought, what better homage to summer with Washington’s fruit trees being oh so generous right now. Peaches (and you might see a few more varieties of stone fruit in my pictures) were my fruit of choice and again, I wanted to simplify this dessert so I wouldn’t have to waste the beautiful day outside. These long hours of light are precious, it would be silly not to bask in them.

For the whipped ricotta

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients 

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 85 gms (3 oz) cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
• 3 tbsp honey

Using a whisk or a hand blender, mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve with the peaches.

For the poached peaches

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe peaches
• 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet apple cider (I used this brand but you can sub Moscato or any other sweet white wine)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Fresh bluberries, to garnish
• Powdered cane sugar, to sprinkle on top

First, you will need to peel the skin off the peaches. Fill a pot with water that would submerge the peaches. Prepare an ice bath while the water is heating. Once the water has boiled, take it off the flame and place side-by-side near the ice bath. Dip one peach at a time into the hot water with the help of a slotted spoon, taking care not to burn yourself. Let them sit in the hot water for 10-15 seconds and then spoon them into the ice bath to cool off. Remove from the ice and at this point, the skin should peel off easily. Set peaches aside on a plate.

Place a large skillet on medium heat. Pout the cider, honey and vanilla extract into it. Heat gently until all the honey dissolves. Once it’s all combined, spoon the peaches into the liquid, with the heat still on low. Put a lid on the skillet and let the liquid simmer for 15 minutes. During the process, keep turning the peaches and spoon the liquid over them  to keep them constantly absorbing the flavours. After about 15 minutes, take the peaches out of the liquid and place them on a plate.

Keep cooking the liquid, now on higher heat until it reduces and turns into a syrup. Pour the cider syrup into a small bowl.

You can serve the peaches cold or warm. On a dessert plate, spoon some of the whipped ricotta and place the peach on top. Drizzle with cider syrup and sift powdered sugar on top. Serve with other fresh fruit.

Check out all the other amazing #SoLetsPigOut recipes on So…Let’s Hang Out and on The Pig & Quill. There are also fun fun giveaways.

Happy potlucking!