Red Wine Macerated Peaches Berries And Oranges Recipes

SUMMER PEACHES AND PEARS MARINATED IN RED WINE AND WARM SPICES

Steps:

• Begin by preparing your fruit. Peel and pit the peaches. Cut into quarters and then cut each quarter in half. Next, peel, core, and halve the pears. Cut each pear half lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Transfer fruit to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Begin the marinade -- In a large, heavy saucepot combine together the wine, orange and lemon zest, sugar, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon stick and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean; add the bean. Give a good stir; over medium heat bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the marinade is boiling; reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes; add raisins during last two minutes.
• Pour the warm marinade over the peaches and pears. Give a gentle toss to generoulsy coat. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour; stir occassionally.
• Serve with plenty of the sweet juices, and top with a dollop of whipped cream or yogurt, and a sprinkling of walnuts.

PEACHES IN RED WINE

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive bowl, whisk together the sugar and wine until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Peel the peaches, halve them, and remove the pits. Cut each peach half into slices 1 inch (3 cm) thick and submerge them in the wine. Taste and add more sugar if desired. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours.
• The peaches should be enjoyed as cold as possible. Serve them right from the refrigerator in well-chilled bowls with lots of the cold sweetened wine. Crisp cookies, such as Pecan-Butterscotch Tuiles (page 214) or Croquants (page 211), are great served alongside.
• You can make the recipe up to 8 hours in advance and keep the mixture chilled until ready to serve. You can also chill the sweetened wine a few days in advance and add the peaches the day you plan to serve them.
• Use yellow and white nectarines instead of peaches (there's no need to peel the nectarines).
• Superfine or baker's sugar dissolves much more quickly than regular granulated sugar. To make your own superfine sugar, pulse granulated sugar in a blender or a food processor a few times until the texture is very fine.