Fresh Peach Vinaigrette? You Betcha.
The only question, really, is what took us so long?
THE VERY IDEA OF “FRUIT VINAIGRETTES” used to freak me out. They always sounded so Sour Patch Kids/Charms Blow Pop/Kool-Aid flavored to me. It wasn’t really logical, but I stuck to my misguided guns until about 10 years ago, when two things happened: I accidentally had a really delicious restaurant salad with blueberry vinaigrette and loved it. (I say “accidentally” because it wasn’t mentioned on the menu.) And I suddenly realized I’d been eating fruit vinaigrettes all my life without thinking of them as “fruit vinaigrettes.”
Meaning not just all the different vinegars I’d used forever, which are made from, duh, fruit, but also all the lemons and limes and oranges I’d squeezed into jars, plus the tomato juice.
The boys in the lab and I love nothing more than fruit in green salad—it’s part of the Department of Salad Origin Story. Why not have dressing made from every kind of fruit?
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So the other day, when I was thinking about ways to avert summer-salad ingredient gluts (or, worse, waste), I popped a slightly past its prime peach into my mini-food processor and gave it the vinaigrette treatment.
After some tinkering, I was absolutely delighted. So I wanted to share the recipe with you, as a little bonus treat. It’s a nice summer substitute for heavier creamy dressings and would be delicious on just about any salad with fruit, nuts, salty cheese, or a little prosciutto: Just toss the greens with some dressing, then top with the rest of your ingredients and drizzle on a bit more vinaigrette. Try it with massaged kale and fruit, etc., too. It might even make a good summer cocktail.
I hope you enjoy it!
*RECIPE: Fresh Peach Champagne Vinaigrette
Makes over ¾ cup
1 very ripe peach, pit removed, cut into chunks (no need to peel)
1 heaping tablespoon roughly chopped shallot
¼ cup Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon good Balsamic vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
Place all ingredients in a mini food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust salt, honey, vinegar.
🥬 🥬🥬 🥬That’s It! We’re done here! We’ll see you soon with more delicious salad. ❤️ .
When I first moved to deepest Gascony, the wonderful Chef Marie-Claude Gracia-La Belle Gasconne- served a fruit-infused vinaigrette on her Salade de Foie Gras Frais. Rather than puree the fruit, she poached it in wine vinegar, strained it for the vinaigrette, and served the pached fruit alongside teh foie gras. sublime. I put that recipe in my first book- A Culinary Journey in Gascony- and continue to make it each summer- with plums and prunes, peaches, nectarines, strawberries!, and pears and quince later. I'll pass it on to you if you like?
It's an exciting idea. I'm wondering what other kind of fruits might be adapted--plums maybe? Not raspberries because you'd have to add so much sugar they'd be inedible. Maybe some melons? Or how about mangoes--what a great idea! Thank you for this inspiration, Emily!