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Serve this sweet relish over Molasses and Bourbon-Marinated Skirt Steak
Mary Anne here. Peaches are hitting their prime right now and after watching “Produce Pete’s” peachy dissertation on our local news station, I made a bee-line for the farmstand to pick a peck. Pete dished up a slew of fruity tips about selecting this precious produce and he managed to illuminate, entertain and inform in under five minutes. We here at Feast on the Cheap salute you Produce Pete.
What I learned: White peaches are the genuine article; the yellow ones (pictured above) were “bred” to last longer than their paler predecessors. Apparently the white variety is sugarier, which, while making them sweeter, also makes them ripen and spoil faster. Case in point: I purchased my peaches on a sultry Saturday morning and by steaming Sunday they had to be eaten or cooked….pronto. We did a bit of both.
Speaking of ripe: No peach should be judged solely by its rosy jacket. The peach is ripe for the picking when the pale green part of the skin, located around the stem and along the bottom, has turned a pale, creamy yellow. As with all fruit, look for unblemished, unbruised skin.
The following recipe is a close cousin to a chutney and we’ve been absolutely lapping it up. It’s fabulous atop beef (like our Molasses and Bourbon-Marinated Skirt Steak), fish, or fowl, smeared on a slice of Tuscan toast or as an appetizer served on cream cheese crackers. It would also complement our Crab Cakes as well as Lizzie Dean’s Cheesecake. And Michael decided he’ll try it on both his morning yogurt and after-dinner vanilla ice cream! Add a few toasted walnuts and you’ll create a nice crunchy treat.
Summer Peach Relish
Makes 1½ Quarts
Note: You will have to make this the day before to allow the flavors to mellow. If it’s too sweet for your taste, give it a spritz of lemon or lime as it cools and you can certainly cut the brown sugar by half.
For easily peeled peaches, bring a 4-quart pot of water to boil. Lightly score an “x” into the bottom of each peach. Gently immerse the peaches into the boiling water for 30 seconds to 1½ minutes, depending on the ripeness of the peaches. You will see the “x” begin to curl. Using a slotted spoon, quickly transfer to an ice cold bath. Once the peaches are cool enough to handle, peel, pit and cut into 1” pieces.
Very Important: The peaches give up lots of juice in the process of peeling, pitting, and chopping, and you’ll want this for the recipe. I used a very deep bowl and peeled and pitted the peaches over the bowl, then sliced the fruit directly into the same bowl. I was able to save almost every drop of this incredibly sweet nectar.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. ripe, firm peaches pitted, peeled and cut into 1” chunks. See note for easy peeling. – $3.25
1 medium red onion, diced (about 1 cup) – $0.50
1 medium Jalapeno pepper, minced – $0.12
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into ½ inch dice – $1.29
2 Tablespoons peeled, minced ginger – stock
2 Tablespoons Canola oil – stock
1 Teaspoon curry powder – stock
½ Teaspoon cinnamon – stock
½ Teaspoon dry mustard – stock
1 Teaspoon coarse salt – stock
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice – $0.33
4 Tablespoons orange juice – $2.69
4 Tablespoons cider vinegar – stock
3 Tablespoons brown sugar – stock
½ cup currants or raisins – stock
Grand Total Assuming Well-Stocked Pantry: $8.18
Directions:
1. Blanch and prepare the peaches as directed above in “note”.
2. Using the same 4-quart pot, heat the Canola oil over medium-high flame. Add the onion and jalapeno and sauté, stirring occasionally until soft, about 6 minutes.
3. Add the ginger and red pepper, Sprinkle the vegetables with the curry, cinnamon, dry mustard and coarse salt. Continue sautéing an additional 6 minutes.
4.Add the peaches and their juices, the brown sugar, cider vinegar, lime juice, and orange juice. Toss in the currants, stirring well to incorporate all. Bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Reduce the flame and simmer over low heat, uncovered until thickened, about 30-35 minutes.
5. Allow to cool on the countertop until the relish reaches room temperature. The relish will continue to thicken during the cooling process. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate over night. Serve with meat, fish, or fowl and certainly try it smeared on thick toast or over ice cream.
Do you sell the peach relish? If so what are the sizes and prices?
Hi Chandra, thanks so much for the inquiry. We don’t sell/ship the relish itself (unless we’re catering an event), we simply provide the recipe. Sorry about that but thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi . I couldn’t help but notice the extreme cost of O.J. in your recipe, is this a typo?
Hi, Jim. No, it’s not a typo. When we calculate the costs, if it isn’t a product that we list on “well-stocked”, we write the price as if the cook has to buy an entire container. Lots of people use OJ and keep it in their fridge, but we don’t, ergo the need to include the cost of a new container.There are probably lots of things that we don’t include in our “well-stocked pantry/kitchen”, so people do ask us from time to time why a couple of tablespoons of something is so pricey! 🙂 So glad you stopped by and hope you’re having a terrific weekend. Cheers!