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Chilled Nectarine Soup with Late-Harvest Wine
Liquid deliciousness, this recipe combines juicy
nectarines with nectar-like late-harvest wine, which is made from extra-ripe
grapes with concentrated sweetness and flavor. Leaving the skins on the
nectarines for poaching gives a rosy hue to the liquid, depending on how much
red there is in the nectarine skins; it’s a nice touch. This recipe may also be
made with white or yellow peaches, or a combination of both, using one
white-fleshed fruit for the final garnish on the otherwise soft yellow-orange
soup. Choose a not-too-expensive late-harvest wine for this recipe, which will
give the soup distinctive flavor while saving a more prized late-harvest for
sipping alongside. Most of these wines come in 375 ml bottles, the perfect size
for this recipe.
- 2 1/2 pounds nectarines
- 1 1/2 cups late-harvest riesling or gewürztraminer
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 sprigs lemon verbena or lemon thyme or 1/2 teaspoon
grated lemon zest
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
Pit all but one of the nectarines and put the halves in a
large saucepan. Set aside 1/4 cup of the late-harvest wine for later and add the
rest to the pan with the white wine, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon verbena. Add
about 2 cups of water so that the liquid just covers the nectarines. Bring the
liquid just to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and gently
simmer until the nectarines are tender when poked with the tip of a knife, 15 to
20 minutes.
Take the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. When
cool, remove and discard the lemon verbena. Slip off and discard the skin from
the nectarine halves and transfer them to a food processor or blender with about
1/2 cup of the poaching liquid. Process until smooth, then put the purée in a
bowl and stir in the remaining poaching liquid. Refrigerate until well chilled,
at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Shortly before serving, whip the cream until soft peaks
begin to form, then drizzle in the remaining 1/4 cup of late-harvest wine and
continue whipping until well blended. Pit and finely chop the remaining
nectarine. Ladle the soup into shallow soup bowls, scatter the chopped nectarine
over and drizzle the whipped cream over in a random pattern. Serve right away.
Makes 6 servings
Recipe by Cynthia Nims, from Stonefruit,
part of the Northwest Homegrown Cookbook Series.
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