I love fruit at the end of a meal and am easily satisfied with whatever is ripe and in season. However, if I have guests and want to give them something more than fresh fruit, simply baking sweet peaches or nectarines transforms them into a warm and fragrant dessert. All kinds of fruits are lovely baked—pears, nectarines, apricots, pluots, apples—but peaches are particularly luscious and juicy. This recipe gilds the lily a bit with berries and wine. If those ingredients are not on hand, don’t let that stop you; the peaches are wonderful baked without them.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　4 ripe freestone peaches

　　1 cup huckleberries, blackberries, or raspberries (optional)

　　3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

　　1/2 cup white wine, Beaumes-de-Venise or other dessert wine, or water

　　Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Arrange the peaches in a shallow gratin dish, cut-side up, in a snug single layer. If you like, fill the cavity of each peach with berries. Sprinkle the sugar over the peaches and berries—more or less, depending on the fruits’ sweetness. Drizzle the wine or water over the fruit. Bake the peaches for about 20 minutes, until juicy and tender. Serve warm with their juices and, if you like, with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

　　

Notes

Step 2

If you prefer, peel the peaches before baking: Drop the peaches in boiling water for 20 seconds or so, just enough to loosen the skins. Lift them out and plunge immediately into ice water. When cool, slip off the skins.

　　

Step 3

In place of the berries, the peaches are delicious baked with an almond stuffing: Cream together 1/4 cup butter and 1 tablespoon sugar. Blend in 1 small egg yolk, 1/4 cup lightly toasted and chopped almonds, and 4 crushed macaroon cookies. Spoon the stuffing into the cavities of the peaches and bake. The stuffing is equally good with pears, nectarines, or apricots.

　　In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters. Copyright © 2010. Published by Clarkson Potter. All Rights Reserved.Named the most influential figure in the past 30 years of the American kitchen by Gourmet magazine, ALICE WATERS is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and the author of nine cookbooks.