Advertisement
Celebrate summer fruits with dishes for any time of the day
Resume
There are so many reasons to love summer. But high on my list is the season’s beautiful fruit. After months of juiceless, unripe, flown-in-from-far-away fruit, it is finally time for locally grown stone fruit — peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums — and gorgeous colorful berries.
Last week some friends invited me to their 'camp,' a rustic wonderful house on a large pond in northern Maine, miles and miles from everything. It was the perfect place to unplug and try for a moment to forget the insanity of the news cycle. There was quiet and a pristine pond to canoe and swim in, but there was another surprise: acres and acres of wild Maine blueberries.
We put on the requisite bug spray and hat, grabbed a large bowl, and crouched down to pick along the edge of the pond and a dirt and pine-needle-strewn path. The sweetest ripest berries always seem to be the ones lowest to the ground (as if the extra physical effort on your part will be rewarded). After half an hour I was sweating and exhausted, but my friend kept on it for well over an hour. She arrived back at camp with a bowl half full of tiny, tart wild berries. I immediately made a pie, but these berries are also ideal for muffins, cakes, pancakes and nearly everything else you can think of. I find myself trying to work summer fruit into almost every meal of the day, whether it's a breakfast smoothie or a topping for my morning granola and yogurt, berry pancakes or muffins, an afternoon drink made with a berry syrup, a salad or main course, or a baked dessert.
These three recipes will take you through the day and through fruit season. The first is for a refreshing no-cook salad, featuring peaches (or nectarines, apricots or plums) with an herbed ricotta cheese mixture on arugula. Next is a two (or three or four) berry muffin that is everything a summer muffin should be: light and brimming with fresh berries. And finally, a super simple skillet cake with nutty brown butter and fresh stone fruit.
Peach, tomato and ricotta salad on arugula
This salad celebrates summer fruit and produce at its best. It’s simple with no fancy tricks but pays homage to the beauty of summer peaches, tomatoes, greens and herbs. Ripe slices of peaches are arranged on a bed of peppery arugula and topped with ripe tomato chunks and fresh herbs with a scoop of herbed ricotta cheese. Creamy. Fruity. Sharp. Sweet.
Serve with a warm baguette for an ideal summer lunch or first course.
Serves 2 as main course and 4 as a side dish.
*The ricotta could be substituted with soft goat cheese or Greek yogurt.
Ingredients
The herbed ricotta:
- ¾ cup whole ricotta, soft goat cheese, or Greek-style yogurt
- ¼ cup chopped herbs like basil, parsley, dill, chives, thyme or any combination you like
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
The salad:
- 1 ½ cup arugula, about 3 ounces, or mixed fresh summer greens
- 2 ripe medium peaches, about 8 ounces
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or 1 medium ripe tomato, cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Mix the ricotta: in a small bowl mix the ricotta, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Taste for seasoning.
- Arrange the arugula on a serving plate. Cut the peaches in half working over the ricotta so you can catch any juices that spill. Remove the pit and cut each half into 4 slices. Each peach will yield 8 slices. Arrange the peach slices around the arugula on the edge of the plate. Scatter the tomatoes and basil on top. Drizzle with the oil and balsamic vinegar and serve cold or at room temperature.
Two (or three or four) berry muffins
This is the time of the berry. I recently had a bumper crop of raspberries in my Maine garden and a bowl of local strawberries. These muffins are quick to put together and make an excellent breakfast or snack any time of day.
Makes 10 muffins.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus butter or nonstick spray for greasing the muffin tins
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ cups flour, 180 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups fresh berries, use a combination of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and/or blackberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Generously grease 10 cups in a standard 12-cup muffin pan with butter or non-stick spray.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, sour cream, egg and lemon zest. Whisk in the melted butter until smooth.
- In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently add the berries to coat them with the flour mixture.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined. It’s perfectly fine if there’s still a few flour streaks. Use a gentle touch.
- Divide the batter between the 10 muffin cups and place them on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until puffed, and golden brown. You can also insert a toothpick in the middle; it should come out dry. Remove and cool on a rack for about 5 minutes. Gently release the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Stone fruit and brown butter skillet cake
Who wants to bake in the dog days of summer? Once you see how simple this cake is and how little effort it requires you will be willing to turn on your oven for 50 minutes or so. (Leave the house. Take a swim. Take a walk. When you walk back into your kitchen, you’ll be rewarded with a magnificent smell of summer fruit and butter.)
You can use peaches, nectarines, plums and/or apricots in this cake. Use a combination of the best local fruit you can find that's ripe and juicy. The fruit is pitted and skinned and then cut into thin slices. A quick batter is whisked up with flour, milk and vanilla. Butter is melted in a 10-inch skillet until it's hot and nutty brown, and the batter is placed on top followed by the fruit slices. It bakes for around 50 minutes until slightly puffed, the fruit is bubbling and the cake just pulling away from the sides of the skillet. Serve with whipped cream, Greek yogurt, or ice cream.
This simple cake is equally good for dessert, snacks, or breakfast with an iced coffee or a shot of espresso.
Serves 6.
Advertisement
Ingredients
The fruit:
- 4 peaches, nectarines, plums or apricots, or a combination, about 1 ½ pounds
- ¼ cup sugar
The cake and brown butter:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup flour, 120 grams
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- To serve: ice cream, whipped cream or creme fraiche
Instructions
- If your fruit is really ripe, you’ll be able to peel it by working over a bowl and using your fingers to gently peel off the skin. If the skin doesn’t come off easily, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the fruit for about 20 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon and immediately place in a bowl of ice water. Then peel the skin off the stone fruit. The bowl is there to catch any and all juices. Remove the pit and cut each half into 4 slices, or 8 slices per fruit. Place in a medium bowl, sprinkle with the sugar and set aside.
- Make the brown butter: in an ovenproof 10-inch skillet (I use cast iron) melt the butter over medium-high heat until melted. Let it continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, swirling the skillet until the butter turns an even rich brown and smells nutty. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the cake batter: in a large bowl whisk the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the milk, vanilla and 4 tablespoons of the brown butter, leaving the remaining 2 tablespoons brown butter in the skillet.
- Pour the cake batter into the skillet and spoon the stone fruit and sugar and any juices on top, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Place on the middle shelf and bake for about 55 minutes to an hour or until the cake is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out dry. Remove and cool 10 minutes before serving hot or at room temperature.
Other summer fruit recipes:
- Click here for recipes for summer berry jam, strawberry galette, raspberry-ginger muffins, and blackberry-raspberry butter.
- Click here for recipes for roasted beet, raspberry and feta salad, blueberry-lemon tea cake, raspberry tart with vanilla pastry cream and simple raspberry jam with lemon.
- Click here for recipes for blueberry and lemon scones, plum clafouti, and blueberry-ginger jam.
- Click here for recipes for gingered green bean and plum salad, summer fruit salsa, grilled blue cheese-cherry sandwich, and grilled maple peaches and sharp cheddar sandwich.
This segment aired on July 25, 2024.
