Peach Gratin

This is one of my favorite desserts, it is very easy to make. When I have friends for dinner, I usually spend many hours cooking and preparing the main dish and most of the time I run out of time to make a dessert as delicious as my main course. This is when I decide to make the always gratifying Peach Gratin.

It has almonds and pignoli making it very different from a simple crumble.

I have tried with nectarines, apricots, peaches and even apples.. It always tastes delicious.

You can decide how much crumble you want to make. I used half of the ingredients of the recipe for a small gratin since we were only four people. If you decided to make the mixture like the recipe but using less fruits you can save the rest of the mixture in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator for a couple of days to make another gratin with another fruit.

I usually like to cover the fruit completely and bake it until it is all golden and crunchy.

The fruit remains  juicy and tender inside and the rest is like a caramel crumble. We ate it with Moroccan tea.

I like to serve it accompanied with a tiny jar of  heavy cream next to it  just like when I serve the apple pie, leaving it optional for the ones who want extra pleasure.

 

The following day the left over becomes part of my breakfast with a cappuccino.

I came up with this recipe a long time ago from a wonderful book that made me understand that recipes weren't just a simple paper with measurements and notes, it's about the stories behind the dish, traditions, family, friends and the mood around the table setting. The pictures are beautiful like a journey  transporting to an authentic atmosphere of Provence. The book is called "Recipes from a Provençal Kitchen" by Michel Biehn.


The original recipe is:
Apricot Gratin 


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup finely ground almonds
1/2 cup of sugar
A pinch of salt
6 ounces of butter
3/4 cup pignoli
3/4 cup blanched almonds
Apricots  about 9 


Preparation:
In a bowl by hand mix the flour, the ground almonds, sugar, salt and butter until you have a mixture of fine  irregular crumbs. Stir together the pignoli and blanched almonds toss to combine. Arrange the apricots halved and pitted side up on a baking dish, cover with the mixture and bake for about an hour until the topping is browned.


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