(I bought 6 pounds at the farmer's market last week.) Eat some fresh and with the rest, whip up some sauces you can store for mid-winter special occasions.
This barbeque sauce may not be the typical brown-red color, but it has all the essential flavors: sweet and sour, spicy and smokey. I served it with grilled chicken, but it would also work well with wild salmon, duck, pork or baked tofu triangles.
I used a dark rum from Martinique with a rich and floral flavor, but if you don't have rum, you can substitute bourbon or even water. For a mild barbeque sauce, omit the chili pepper or remove the seeds and membranes before you chop it.
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, first cold pressing
3/4 cups diced red onion., about 1 small
1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
2.5 cups fresh diced peaches, about 2 large peaches
1 large date, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark rum
Sea salt to taste
Ground peppercorn to taste
Warm the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft and starting to brown. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and as much chili pepper as you like. Stir and cook for one minute more, until the garlic becomes aromatic. Do not burn the garlic.
Add the peaches, date, mustard seeds, cumin, vinegar, rum, sea salt and peppercorn. Stir until well combined. Continue cooking over low heat until the peaches are soft and most of the liquid has reduced. Remove from the heat and cool.
Transfer the cooled peach mixture to a food processor and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately, gently re-heating if desired, or store in an air-tight container for future use.
Yield: 2 cups
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