Go Coconuts with the Peaches!

Pesche Tostate in Fiocchi di Cocco & Huacatay, con Miele & Yogurt
Coconut Toasted Peaches with Huacatay, with Honey & Yogurt

Peaches! Absolutely my favorite fruit in the Summer! But sometimes, alas, we buy them, they look, smell and feel great... But when we get them home and bite into them, they are rock-hard and not as juicy as they seemed to be, after all...

...and what do we do with them then? After we have got over our disappointment that is?

I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve... And this is just one of them, which I used to turn a couple of little peaches into a lovely, light breakfast this morning!

 

 

The best way to make the most of most (disappointing) fruits, and peaches in particular, is to cook them a little, give them a blast of heat to get their juices hot and active and to help them release their flavor and aroma.

I love to grill peaches, but this morning I decided to toast them in a dry pan, with a coating of coconut flakes... And rather delicious they turned out to be too!

 

We all like to add fruit to our yogurt, and this is just a slightly more elaborate way of doing so. And as I had some of those wonderful, fruity and aromatic leaves of Huacatay, well, I decided it would be a shame not to use them!

So, for 2 small portions as shown, needed 2 peaches- mine happened to be the flat variety, a little coconut, the leaves of course and a little honey and yogurt to make everything complete.

Should you not be able to get any of my favorite, Peruvian herb, I am sure that rosemary or mint would be great alternatives.

 

 

Sometimes, the most simple and obvious solutions are the best... Well actually, they almost always are!

Simply wash the peaches and remove them from the stone. I did this by making 2 cuts, thus splitting the peach into quarters and then snapping them apart. I find this a more reliable version than simply making 1 cut and halving the peach... We all know what happens when those stones refuse to let go! Haha!

Cut the peaches into slightly thinner slices. In this case, I split each quarter again into thirds.

 

 

I then snipped 4-5 leaves of huacatay with some kitchen scissors, straight into the coconut flakes... Again, you could do the same with mint or rosemary.

 

 

 

And then all that needed to be done, was for the peach slices to be tossed/ pressed into the coconut flakes to get them nicely coated.

Simply place the peaces into a dry pan and let them toast gradually on a moderate heat, just until you see the coconut flakes are turning golden brown... Keep your eyes on them, because once the pan gets to that certain, unknown temperature, those flakes will begin to darken quickly!

 

 

 

 Flip them over, let the other side toast too and then set to one side to cool.

Stand them up on their ends, that way the slices will cool more quickly and the coconut will remain firm and dry, rather than getting steamed-up and soft from the residual heat.

As soon as the peaches are cool, you can serve them up with honey and yogurt and enjoy that great fruit flavor combined with the slightly exotic huacatay and coconut... And start off your day with a smile!