Less is more in preparing peach splits

Bananas, move over. It's time to share the split spotlight with seasonal fruit, and peaches are an ideal choice.

We all know what goes into a traditional split - a banana sliced lengthwise, a couple of types of ice cream, several kinds of sauces, whipped cream, nuts and a bright red fluorescent maraschino cherry on top. Yet, with apologies to banana split aficionados, this rendition often looks and tastes as if someone had cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer. There's way too much going on. It's a piled-up mess.

My version goes by the principle that less is more. I take the basic split premise but remove some of the ingredients. All the flavors stand out.

To make a peach split, you could simply peel some peaches, cut them in half and add the toppings. But taking an extra step and poaching them in a dry rosé wine and reducing the poaching liquid to a syrup makes them extra special. And unlike ripe peaches, these won't turn brown if you don't eat them right away. You can prepare them in advance and refrigerate them overnight before serving.

It's important to use slightly firm peaches. While super-ripe peaches are the ones we choose for shortcakes and with our morning cereal, they turn to mush when poached.

For the same reason, once the peaches are added to the hot liquid, cook them at a low simmer - nothing higher. Leave the peels on to help them keep their shape, and then peel them after poaching.

Once the peaches are done, cool them right away to stop them from cooking any further. Place the peaches and some of the liquid in a bowl, and cool them over an ice bath. The liquid cools faster and penetrates the peach, cooling it quickly as well. Or you can put the peaches on a large plate in a single layer and put them in the refrigerator.

You want to get the syrup consistency just right. Not reducing it enough will make it watery, and reducing it too much makes it sticky. Through trial and error I decided that winding up with 1 cup is perfect.

It's hard to tell while it's in the pot how much is left. When I think it's getting close, I pour it into a glass measuring cup to check. If it's over a cup, I put it back into the pot and continue cooking.

Keep in mind the syrup reduces quicker in the last half of cooking time than the first half. If you find you have reduced it too much and it gets too thick to pour once it's cooled, just stir in a little water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is right.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream, a healthy spoonful of blueberry sauce (which also can be prepared in advance) and a sprinkling of toasted pistachios are the perfect embellishments.

Rosé Wine Poached Peach Splits

Serves 6

The peaches can be poached and the poaching liquid can be reduced a day in advance. Store both, covered, in the refrigerator. The Blueberry Sauce can also be made ahead. Bring both to room temperature before serving.



Blueberry Sauce
1 pint blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
Peaches
3 slightly firm peaches
1 750 ml bottle rosé wine, about 3 cups
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
-- Large pinch of kosher salt
-- Grated zest from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cinnamon stick
To serve
6 scoops vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup coarsely chopped roasted, unsalted pistachios

For the sauce: 

Put half the berries and all of the sugar in a small saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the berries give off their juice and the sugar dissolves. Increase to medium-low and cook until the berries break apart, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining blueberries and cook 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Makes about 1 1/2 cups. Save any extra for another use.

For the peaches:

Halve and pit the peaches. Reserve the pits.
In a large, nonreactive saucepan, combine the wine, water, sugar, salt, lemon zest and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the peaches. Cover them with parchment paper or a plate to submerge them completely in the liquid. Cook at a low simmer just until the peaches can be easily pierced all the way through with a small knife, about 12 minutes.

While the peaches are poaching, make an ice bath by filling a medium bowl one third full of ice and adding water until the ice is covered. Have ready a second bowl that fits into the ice bath.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peaches to the second bowl with about 2 cups of the poaching liquid. Place the bowl into the ice bath. Let the peaches cool for 10-15 minutes or until room temperature. Remove peaches from the liquid, peel them and set aside; save the skins.

Add the cooled liquid, reserved pits and skins to the saucepan with the remaining poaching liquid and bring to a boil over high heat until it is has reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl; discard the solids. Let cool to room temperature. You can speed things up by placing the syrup over an ice bath or in the refrigerator.

To serve: 

Place a peach half, cut side up, into 6 wide bowls. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top then spoon some of the reduced rosé syrup around each peach. Spoon a little Blueberry Sauce over the ice cream. Scatter pistachios over the ice cream and around the peach.

Per serving: 

404 calories, 4 g protein, 58 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat (5 g saturated), 29 mg cholesterol, 61 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.




Article & photos sourced from sfgate.com:
Written by: Emily Luchetti
http://www.sfgate.com/recipes/thebaker/article/Less-is-more-in-preparing-peach-splits-4739258.php#page-2