Hard peaches for hard times
In the food section of the NYT’s last week Mellisa Clark had an intriguing recipe for chicken thighs roasted with hard peaches. You know, the kind that you buy at the grocery store and are obviously not local, not tree ripened, and not good for anything but cooking. But that’s the point. Those somewhat odious peaches do cook up quite nicely and because they are not tree-ripened they aren’t as loaded with sugar so that they do actually make the perfect accompaniment to the beloved chicken thigh.
No actual recipe is necessary since it’s so very simple and quick. Take a pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and slice them into strip about 1 inch wide. Peel a pound of hard peaches and slice them into comparable slices. Mince a few cloves of garlic, an inch of fresh ginger and toss the whole mess together with just a squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil. Arrange it all on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes (or until the chicken is golden brown) at at 375 degree oven. Take from the oven, toss in a handful of freshly chiffonaded basil and serve with some rice.
The flavors are delicate and light. The addition of the basil at the end provides a vibrant note and the ginger and garlic play so nicely with the peaches. For those of you that prefer chicken breasts over thighs I think you too will be happy with this preparation. I can’t help but imagine this with mangoes…I think that could be stunning.
Perfect potato salad
What is so on-the-nose perfect about summer is that it is easy to create superb food with hardly any work. This luscious potato salad is a prime example of the less is more style of cooking that summer demands and which I embrace. A dozen perfect new potatoes simmered until tender and then drained, split open with a fork and tossed with a fragrant and peppery extra virgin olive oil from Spain. Rough chop a bundle of fresh parsley and several new green onions, toss them in, add salt and pepper and perhaps, if gilding the lily is your thing…it is of course mine…then toss in some crunchy bacon bits, preferably Wisconsin’s favorite Nueske’s. Either way, with or without the bacon, this salad is perfect. I complemented it with some grilled lamb and rose veal but I could have simply dined on this and been quite content.
