25 September 2009

Almond Peach Tart (in easy steps)


I was sitting in the park babysitting the other day and trying to finish reading a sentence in my book with very little success. It was then that I gave myself an important piece of advice: Hope, I said, get your reading done in your twenties. The thing is, the girl I babysit for is adorable, well-behaved and 8-years-old, so pretty independent when it comes to running around the park with her friends, but keeping on eye on children is simply not conducive to reading Proust. You start a sentence and then half a page later, amid a myriad of subordinate clauses, dashes and parenthesis (MP loves parenthesis), you're desperately trying to hold on to the subject of the sentence and then all of sudden it's "can I have a drink of water?", "look how high I can climb on the jungle gym!" or "Max won't let me play with him..."

If I ever have children, it's not like I'll give up reading - I couldn't - but I won't be reading Proust, just like I probably won't be making slow-cooked mutton with honey and almonds, or homemade Foccacia. Of course it's not just children that keep one from getting things done. I rarely have time for a time-consuming kitchen project even now.

This peach tart, however, is perfect because you can make it in short steps in between running around doing other things. (To make it kid-friendly, you can cook the peaches in butter instead of in wine.) I made the poached peaches, pie crust and ground the flour/almond mixture one day, stuck them in the fridge and finished the tart the next day.

5 peaches (yellow or white)
3/4 cup muscat or other white dessert wine
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp + 1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp white sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar



Score the peaches and drop in boiling water for 15-2o seconds. Plunge immediately into ice water so they stop cooking. Peel and cut into slices.

In a large frying pan, mix the muscat, lemon juice and sugar with the peach slices and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer 7-10 minutes. (You can keep this mixture in the fridge for a day or two before making into a tart.)

Drain peaches, reserving the juice. Pour the peach/muscat liquid into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC, roll out your homemade pie crust (or pull out your favorite store bought) and bake crust for about 20 minutes. In a mixer, grind 3 Tbsp of sliced almonds with the flour and white sugar. Line the bottom of the crust with mixture and bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add the peaches, pouring the reduced liquid over them, and sprinkle 1/4 cup of almonds and 3 Tbsp brown sugar on top.

Broil for 3 minutes or until almonds start to brown. Let sit at least 10-15 minutes before serving (if you can!).

13 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A delightful tart! That is an awesome combo!

Cheers,

Rosa

Jessalyn Pinneo said...

I'm not especially fond of either peaches or tarts, but this sounds amazing!

Ivy said...

I love peaches. This sounds like a delicious combo.

D.K. said...

Je crois que j'ai trouvé la solution : tu fais lire Proust à tes gamins, comme cela tu peux profiter de longues plages de silence pour tes propres lectures. Simple, non ? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Yay! I'm glad it worked out so deliciously.

Et j'aime l'idee de D.K. - faire lire Proust aux enfants... genie!

Hopie said...

Rosa - Thank you! Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Jessalyn - Yes, but peaches in muscat... Penses-y ;-)

Ivy - I love them too and they were certainly yummy fall peaches.

D.K. - J'aime ta façon de penser... et tes idées pour élever des enfants ;-)

Camille - I agree (see above). Yea, I solved the problem by cooking everything separately and using the boiler and it worked great! Thanks for your help!

Katharine said...

Blanched almonds? Looks perfect for peach season. Thank you for the inspiration! Love, Mom

Hopie said...

Mom - I didn't blanch the almonds. I just bought them sliced. Definitely the right season for a peach tart :-)

Sam said...

Almonds with peaches is one of those combinations that never fails to be delicious. Great recipe!

Apples and Butter said...

I love that this recipe can be broken up into little pieces. Children or not, it can be so hard to find the time to cook!

Hopie said...

Sam - I have to agree!

Apples and Butter - I love that kind of recipe too, where you can take little pieces of your day here and there and come out with something delicious ;-)

Joie de vivre said...

Hopie,
This post made me laugh. When you have kids, after the initial year of extreme sleep deprivation, you can get back to reading. You just must do it after you put them to bed at night. Either that, or do it first thing in the morning before they get up. Either way, you are right, while they are awake, it is impossible to read anything in depth! Thank you for sharing the recipe for this lovely tart. I can't wait to try it next summer!

Hopie said...

Joie de Vivre - Glad you liked it. And it's good to know one doesn't have to give up reading entirely! I guess you can read TO your children (probably not Proust ;-)), and there are a lot of good children's books out there!