Ingredients
- 2 cups organic cane sugar (coconut sugar might be nice here, too)
- Seeds of 2 vanilla beans
- 8 ripe peaches, halved — you want them soft to the touch, but not bruised (they should be able to maintain their shape under heat)
- 4 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup pistachios, unshelled
- 2 pinches cardamom
- dash of sea salt
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 °. Next, make your vanilla sugar. (I’ve seen directions to make this in advance, but I’m usually not that organized—when the craving strikes, my sweet tooth must be fed.) Place cane sugar in a bowl and scrape the seeds of two vanilla beans into the sugar. Rub the vanilla seeds into the sugar and set aside. Wash your peaches and pat with a dry cloth. Cut them in half and remove the stones. Measure 4 tablespoons of vanilla sugar into a shallow dish and press the peach halves into the sugar to coat them, coating both sides. Place the pieces in a casserole dish (skin-side down). Pour the wine into the dish, being sure to avoid pouring them directly onto the peaches so you don’t wash away the sugar. If you’re grilling other items, you can finish the peaches off on the grill. If doing so, bake the peaches for about 20-25 minutes so they will remain slightly firm and hold nicely on the grill. (If you prefer to simply bake these, bake for 35-40 minutes, until the peaches have crinkled around the edges and give easily to a fork.) While the peaches are baking, roughly chop the pistachios and toss them in a bowl with the cardamom and sea salt. Set aside for topping. To grill: Place the peaches over a hot grill (medium to high heat) turning often until evenly cooked and small black char marks start to appear. You can serve the peaches in a variety of ways. I eat them for breakfast over yogurt, drizzled with honey, topped with a handful of granola and pistachios; for dessert, serve with a glug of cream, topped with pistachios. I have a feeling that serving these over vanilla ice cream and drizzling them with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt would not be disappointing. Store leftovers in a jar in the fridge. They’re great served chilled.