01 Aug peach tart + peach sambo

These recipes first appeared in Insider Magazine in The Irish Independent on July 24th 

When perfectly ripe, peaches are the juicy taste of summer holidays. We cooked Spanish peaches this week, bringing the sunshine to our kitchen with a bite through their soft skin and bright orange flesh. Have a look at www.forkful.tv for our peach and balsamic salad video for another idea of what to do with these summertime beauties.

Peach Tarts (makes 6 to 8 mini tarts)

This is a version of a recipe by Barney Desmazery, one our favourite food writers. We use the same ingredients but simplify the method. You’ll find his version here at http://bit.ly/BarneyAlmondTarts.

Ingredients

100g ground almonds

100g unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

About 4 tablespoons dark muscovado sugar

2 x 250g sheet of puff pastry (or a 500g block cut in half and rolled out into thin sheets)

2 peaches

Method

Put the almonds and softened butter into a mixing bowl. Use an electric whisk to beat together until fluffy. Add the egg and beat once more until well-combined. Set aside.

Use a small teacup saucer to cut six to eight circles into your puff pastry sheets. You should get three circles out of each sheet. Carefully transfer your puff pastry circles to baking trays greased with butter, being careful not to pack the tarts too close together.

Add a tablespoon of the almond, butter mixture to the puff pastry circles.

Use a sharf knife to cut your peaches into thin quarter slices and carefully arrange them in the shape of a fan on the tarts. So pretty!

Pop them in the fridge for 10 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas Mark 7.

Bake the tarts for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a bit of muscovado sugar over the top of each tart. But them back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar has caramelised and the puff pastry is risen and golden.

These taste great served straight but can also be served cold a few hours later.

Peach & Mozarella Sandwich for 1

Ingredients

1/2 a ripe peach, thickly sliced

Knob of butter

1 delicious bread roll

Handful of rocket

2 slices of Parma ham

3 slices of mozarella

Runny honey

Method

Heat the knob of butter in a griddle or frying pan over a medium to high heat. Fry the slices of peaches until starting to caramelise around the edges.

Layer your bread roll with rocket, parma ham, mozarella slices and, finally, the grilled peaches. Finish with a drizzle of runny honey.