Ingredients
- 4 fresh peaches
- 2 cups dessert wine or white wine
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split in 1/2 and seeds scraped
- 2 cups fresh raspberries, picked over
- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, recipe follows, or good quality store bought vanilla, for serving
- Whole fresh raspberries, for garnish
- Mint sprigs, for garnish
Directions
Score the bottom of each peach with a paring knife, making an X on the bottom of each. Combine the wine, water, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds and pod in a saucepan. Add the peaches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the peaches from the syrup and cool slightly.
Return the peach cooking liquid to high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the mixture by half, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Peel the peaches and halve each peach, removing the seed. Pour 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid over the peaches and refrigerate until well chilled.
Combine the raspberries, 1/2 cup of the syrup, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a food processor and process until well pureed. Strain the raspberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, place 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream in each bowl. Top each serving with 1 peach half and drizzle the raspberry coulis over the peach. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and serve immediately.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 12 large egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
Combine the cream and 1 cup of the milk in a large heavy saucepan. Scrape the seeds into the cream mixture and add the bean pod. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
Whisk the yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. In a slow and steady stream, whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture. Gradually whisk the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof medium bowl.
Stir in the remaining 1 cup milk into the ice cream base and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours.
Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream machine. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack into an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
















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By piratefiddler
wawarsing ny
on August 26, 2012
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Delicious! The wine is such a great "secret ingredient", because it adds a wonderful flavor without overpowering. I have made this a few times for friends, and it's always a hit. I also tried using blackberries instead of raspberries, which was equally tasty.
By DoreanB
on September 07, 2011
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Most other recipes I found for Peach Melba had the peaches poached in just simple syrup, which is why I chose this one. Having wine in the poaching liquid adds an extra depth of flavor that elevates this version above the others.
This recipe was easy to make, and tasty, too. I sweetened the raspberries a little more than called for because they seemed awfully tart to me. It could be just the batch of berries I had. The berries need some tartness to cut through the sweetness of the other components, but if they're too tart it's pretty jarring.
By snapshot81_7786153
kent, WA
on June 17, 2007
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This dessert is definitely worth the effort. It really adds a classy, romantic finish to any Italian meal. I pureed strawberry instead of raspberry (because I didn't want to mess with the seeds and it turned out delicious.
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