Baked berry filled peaches: As the first days of summer arrive, so do the peaches. When we lived on the tiny island of Ponza (one of Italy’s hidden treasures), if your produce didn’t grow on the island, it had to be shipped in. So when the summer fruits arrived, so too did a flurry of excitement.
During our time on Ponza, we operated a Bed and Breakfast and enjoyed presenting a new breakfast every day. On Ponza, the season for peaches is the same as the season for blackberries, which were growing in our garden, so baked berry filled peaches were a naturally happy combination.
Did you know
- The peach originated in China where it is revered as a symbol of immortality and longevity.
- China is the worlds largest producer of peaches closely followed by Italy.
- The peach is a member of the rose family.
- An average sized peach is full of Vitamins A and C as well as magnesium.
Baked berry filled peaches – serves 4
- 2 large peaches, washed, sliced in half with stone removed
- 4 tablespoons fresh blackberries (or berry of your choice) washed and dried
- 4 tablespoons lemon marmalade (or you could use your favourite jam)
- 4 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 195 C / 385 F.
- Cup your peach halves in foil and stand them in a deep baking dish, keeping them as level as possible.
- Divide the blackberries between each peach, filling each cavity.
- Top the blackberries with a spoon full of marmalade.
- Sprinkle each with a level teaspoon of sugar.
- Loosely cover the top of the baking dish with more foil and place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover, turn the oven off and leave the peaches in the oven until they have cooled enough to serve.
