Peach olive oil semifreddo with almond-sesame cookies
Winter never feels further away than when peaches are in season.
Recently, I gave my baby a peach for the first time. He cautiously brought his fingers close and considered whether he should take it. When he eventually did, he touched it to his tongue and grimaced. Then he crushed it in his hands, juice streaming down his forearms. He tasted it again and, this time, beamed. Soon, there was nothing left but the skin. As he ate, I kept thinking, Imagine tasting a peach for the first time.
Winter never feels further away than when peaches are in season. In Berlin, the winter seeps down into the streets and settles in. When the light eventually returns, it brings with it the dawn chorus, the bright green of new leaves, a rainbow of tulips. And finally, the summer fruits appear at the market again. The first strawberries can be a little sour, not quite sun-soaked enough, though cooked in a pot with enough sugar, they make excellent jam. The apricots are more often than not mealy and sad, the best of them never making it this far north. But the first peach of the summer is never a disappointment. With the first bite comes a burst of sweet and sour, the juiciness taking you by surprise. After the months of gray skies and chapped lips, the pleasure is so fresh that it’s almost like reliving your first peach.
For a peach to grow, the conditions have to be exactly right. Not too hot, but hot enough. Not too cold, but cold enough. Not too wet. The blossoms need pollinators so the fruit can grow (thank you, bees). A peach tree needs full sun and good air flow. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers like blood or bone meal are essential. The blossoms need to be thinned out or the fruit that grows will be abundant but small and flavorless. Like all deciduous trees, the peach becomes dormant in winter to survive the cold. But the fruit itself relies on the cold, too. If the winter is too warm, the spring blossoms drop from the branches and the fruit doesn't grow. And we need the cold too. Without the sense that winter might never end, would we notice that the first peach of the summer tastes like magic?
My favorite is the flat peach, with its small stone, pinkish blush, and pale flesh. It's sweeter than the yellow-fleshed variety, and I could eat them all day. Since I’m impatient, I try to choose ones that are close to fully ripe, so that I don't have to wait long before eating them. I pay attention to the fragrance that fills the kitchen, reminding me to gently press the skin, hoping for just enough give, the signal that they're ready. I love to eat them on their own, often two at a time. For a quick summer supper, I slice a peach and arrange it around a fat burrata, drizzle the plate with olive oil, salt generously, and scatter shredded basil over the top. The only necessary accompaniment is a slice of good bread to mop up the cream that mingles with the juice and oil. If you get desperate in the dark winter, tinned peaches with a scoop of vanilla ice cream will just about do.
I first made semifreddo a few summers ago. For two hot nights, a couple of friends and I collaborated on a series of dinners we called Notte d’Amore. I was on dessert duty, and I knew I’d make something with peaches. I wanted it to be light and cooling, a foil to the heat of the day. I’d have liked to make ice cream, but I didn't have the money or space for an ice cream maker. At the time, the only freezer I had was a tiny icebox in my fridge, just big enough for a couple of pans of semifreddo. I roasted peaches in a little sugar and a hint of salt, drawing out the flavor and juice. Then I blended them to a purée, skin and all. I cooked some eggs and sugar over a bain-marie, then folded in sweetened whipped cream. The whole lot was swirled together in a loaf tin lined with cling film and sent to the freezer. I served the team a slice while we were developing our menu. “The peach is so peachy!” I say in the short video I made of the moment. And we carried on eating until the whole thing was gone.
I’ve adapted my recipe slightly by adding a little olive oil. It's a nod to my favorite ice cream flavor: peach, olive oil, and rosemary, made by Canal, an ice cream and eclair shop in Berlin. I'd also recommend using the tangier yellow-fleshed peaches. The contrast of slightly sour, sweet, and creamy is heavenly. Semifreddo is a very low-fuss dessert and can be thrown together rather quickly. Once it’s frozen, all you need to do is slice it. Though it’s lovely on its own, the almond-sesame cookies are definitely worth making for a little extra texture. If you don’t have sesame seeds, just add 20 grams more of the flaked almonds. And serendipitously, everything is gluten-free.
Peach olive oil semifreddo with almond-sesame cookies
Semifreddo
450 grams yellow peaches, halved and stones removed
¼ teaspoon salt + a pinch
170 grams fine sugar
4 eggs
60 grams olive oil
400 grams whipping cream
½ teaspoon vanilla paste
Almond-sesame cookies
110 grams flaked almonds
20 grams sesame seeds
1 egg white (maximum 35 grams)
50 grams fine sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
Equipment
25-centimeter loaf tin
Stand-mixer
Electric hand-mixer
Thermometer
Blender
For the semifreddo
Prepare a 25-centimeter loaf tin by lining it with cling film. Allow plenty of excess around the edges so that the film can cover the whole surface of the semifreddo mixture.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Arrange the peaches in a small roasting pan and sprinkle with 50 grams of the fine sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The juice should have just started to caramelize around the edge. Allow to cool, then purée in a blender and set aside.
Whisk the eggs and 60 grams of the fine sugar over a bain-marie until the mixture reaches 70°C. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk attachment (or use an electric hand whisk) and whip on a medium-high speed until the mixture triples in volume.
In a separate bowl, use an electric hand-mixer to whip the cream, vanilla, remaining sugar and a pinch of salt until the mixture forms soft peaks. Drizzle the olive oil in slowly and continue whipping until it’s fully combined.
Stir half a cup of the peach purée into the egg mixture, then fold in half of the cream. Once combined, fold in the remaining cream.
Pour the remaining peach purée into the prepared loaf tin. Pour the egg and cream mixture over the top, allowing it to swirl a little in the purée. Fold the overhanging cling film over the top to cover the surface, then place the loaf tin in the freezer. Allow to freeze for at least eight hours, and preferably overnight. Any excess cream and egg mixture can be poured into a Tupperware box and frozen separately.
For the cookies
Preheat the oven to 160ºC and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the egg white, sugar, and salt, then whisk for one minute. It will appear thicker and the grain of the sugar will have noticeably reduced. Add the flaked almonds and sesame seeds and mix until fully coated in the sugary egg white.
Spoon 21 grams of the mixture onto the baking sheet and form into a rough round. Flatten out with the back of a spoon until each cookie is about eight centimetres in diameter. Continue until you’ve used up all the mixture.
Bake for 22 minutes. They should have browned evenly all over, if they’re still pale in the center, give them a few more minutes in the oven. Allow to cool on the tray until they fully harden, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. If you’re not serving them immediately, put the completely cooled cookies in an airtight box to store them.
To serve
Remove the semifreddo from the freezer and use the cling film to help you pull it out of the loaf pan. Remove the cling film completely. The semifreddo can be cut immediately. Slice using a sharp knife and serve with an almond-sesame cookie on the side or crumbled over the top.
Have not been in the mood to cook or bake lately, but this looks absolutely magical — and really pretty easy? Feeling inspired . . . ✨🍑✨
A peachy heavenly read! Feeling blessed to receive this creation 🍑