Pesche Ripiene – Stuffed Peaches

Simplicity. It’s such a reassuring concept. Everyone knows that the simple things in life are often the best, and honestly, who doesn’t need to simplify their lives every now and then? No one needs to overcomplicate their lives.

And at this time of year, when the holiday rush and madness seems to be over and – well here in the Southern Hemisphere anyway – the long summer days call out for time to be spent enjoying them, you can relish in having a simple and impromptu meal, perhaps whipping this up even at the last minute with the abundance of ripe summer peaches.

I have been eyeing this recipe for a long time, after spotting it in not one but two of my favourite old cookbooks, patiently waiting for peaches to come in to season so that I could finally try it. Now that I’ve finally been able to make and taste it, I can positively say that I’ve found one of the most wonderful, simple summer desserts of all time –  it’s going to become a staple dish for as long as peach season lasts.

I first saw it in Ada Boni‘s Talisman – that classic 1920s Italian housewives’ cookbook. Known in Italian as Il Talismano della Felicità (the Talisman of Happiness), my 1950s English edition (found by luck and chance in a vintage shop) is simply called The Talisman Italian Cook Book. It’s an extremely abridged version (with an excellent introduction I must add), with a selection of the recipes that were found “most adaptable” to American 1950s households, as well as the addition of some Italian-American recipes deemed necessary in an Italian cookbook, something that in itself I find incredibly interesting and telling of the kitchens of the time. But, importantly, this 1950s version for American households eliminated any of the recipes that were not strictly of Italian origins – recipes that perhaps served Ada Boni’s original idea behind the book, a collection of recipes for the “modern” Italian woman.

It was indeed a book that, along with Pellegrino Artusi’s classic, printed 38 years earlier in 1891, was intended especially for new brides and made its way to the shelves of most kitchens across Italy.

Ada Boni calls this dish “Peaches Piemonte Style,” which describes a dish of halved peaches, baked with a filling of crumbled amaretti biscuits, a Northern Italian specialty. The 1950s English translation calls them “macaroons”, which is not far off in that they are very similar to coconut macaroons but made with almond meal, egg whites and sugar.

I immediately consulted my bible of Piemonte cuisine, Nonna Genia, a beautiful cookbook full of nostalgia and recipes especially from the Langhe area of Piemonte. Sure enough, there was the recipe for pesche ripiene, stuffed peaches. They are almost identical recipes, with the exception of one ingredient and one detail. Beppe Lodi’s recipe in Nonna Genia includes two spoonfuls of cocoa powder in the filling and insists that these should be served hot or tepid, never cold (Boni states they can be served hot or cold).

Artusi also has a similar recipe in his 1891 cookbook for pesche ripiene but the filling consists of savoiardi (also known as lady fingers) biscuits and freshly pounded blanched almonds – I suppose in the absence of amaretti, you could go this way instead.

I used Ada Boni’s recipe, but taking a cue from Nonna Genia, I added a grating of chocolate on top of the peaches just before serving, which did not go unappreciated. There is something about the almond biscuits, the fresh peaches, and chocolate which are just perfect partners in this easy, gluten-free summer dish.

Pesche Ripiene
Stuffed peaches Piemonte style, adpated from Ada Boni’s Talisman cookbook

A note: none of the historical recipes I found specified whether to use yellow or white peaches. I chose ripe yellow peaches, but I think as long as they are delicious you could use either. I also think that if you have delicious, sweet peaches, and good quality amaretti you really don’t need the sugar in this recipe.

Serves 6

  • 7 peaches
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 5 amaretti biscuits, crushed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Some shaved or grated dark or milk chocolate

Cut 6 of the peaches in half, removing the pits and scooping out some extra pulp from each half to combine with the filling. Add this extra pulp to the mashed or chopped pulp of the last peach together with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Place the peach halves face up in a well-buttered baking dish and fill the halves with the amaretti and pulp mixture. Bake in a moderate oven (180°C) for about 1 hour or until the peaches are cooked through and browned on top.

Serve hot or tepid, with a grating of dark or milk chocolate over the top. It would go down nicely with with a glass of Moscato.

Comments

  1. Rosa says:

    A great idea and dessert!

    Best wishes for 2013!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  2. Valeria says:

    You cannot imagine my jealousy about the peaches, the summer, the warmth and the days to be enjoyed outside. In my plans, sooner or later, there will be a 6-month stay in Australia, leaving this hemisphere just when fall starts to kick in (say, October), and come there to enjoy the beginning of spring, and yes, finally live the dream –two summers in one year. Maybe I should do that all the time, meaning, it should become my lifestyle…Mmm, working on it. Or else, I should move somewhere warm all year 😀
    Pesche ripiene –how many memories of my summers in Bra…You made me nostalgic, but in the best way!

    • Emiko says:

      Yes, what a brilliant idea to follow the summers and come to Australia, you know you & J are always welcome here! Glad to have brought back some memories for you with this dish! x

  3. Karen says:

    So lovely. Ada Boni’s book was one of the the first I ever bought. I’ll come back to the peaches when the sun turns our way again! Cheers.

  4. So beautiful…. welcome to summer downunder xo

  5. Evie says:

    Now I really can’t wait for the peaches to arrive here in the Northern hemisphere. At this time of year, when your allotment is just sticky mud, this post lifts the spirits.

  6. Those look divine! I’ve never tried stuffed peaches before and have been on the lookout for great January recipes. This heads to the top of the list! Thank you!

  7. These peaches look so juicy and soft, I love a good peach but sadly all the peaches we can get here have been frosen during transport so the taste and texture has been affected by it. They never seem to ripen, they stay tough but rot. A lovely ripe peach, such a simple thing yet so hard to come by here. Do I spot a little Falcon dish in your picture? 😉

    • Emiko says:

      Oh no, that’s the worst! Sounds terrible, a sweet peach picked when properly ripe is what you want isn’t it? Yes, it might be a Falcon dish but actually my mum found it at a vintage market for me! I love these enamel pans 🙂

  8. Ambra Sancin says:

    Just discovered your blog. If you’re interested in vintage Italian recipes, you should try to find the ‘Italia in Bocca’ series of cookbooks. They’re now almost collectors’ items and I’ve got the one from Friuli Venezia-Giulia. I posted about this on my blog ‘The Good, the Bad and the Italian’ last month: http://ambradambra.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/lurking-in-the-cupboard-6-italy-in-bocca-cookbook/

    • Emiko says:

      Sounds interesting, I’ve never come across this series before (I can now see why!) but they look wonderful – will now keep my eye out for them!

  9. Rosemarie says:

    Wow Emiko! I just googled stuffed peaches/pesche ripiene (planning on making them for Ferragosto) and your recipe came up! According to one source I’ve come across (Giovanni Goria’s La cucina del piemonte collinare e vignaiolo), they’re best prepared with yellow peaches in August. His recipe, like Beppe Lodi’s and my mother-in-law’s (she’s from the Monferrato region of Piedmont) has cocoa in it. I’ve also come across a delicious-sounding Ligurian variant with crushed almonds instead of amaretti. I like how you blend elements from the different recipes you found. The chocolate shavings are a great idea.

    • Emiko Davies says:

      Oh that’s great, thank you for letting me know! I’ve always wondered and done it with both yellow and white peaches but personally prefer the yellow ones for this. I have seen that Rachel Roddy (Rachel Eats) does crushed almonds too, or offers it as an alternative if you don’t have amaretti. I like that.

      • Rosemarie says:

        White peaches are nice but yellow ones seem to work better with this recipe definitely. I’ve come across Rachel’s recipe too and noticed that she gave the option with crushed almonds. Love her recipes and the stories she has to share about them on her blog. I did what she did once actually when I was back in Australia for Christmas. I had to find a way to ‘veganise’ the recipe. I crushed a couple of the peach kernels too so there was a hint of the bitter almonds amaretti are made with. It worked really well.

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