This dessert recipe for Sautéed Peaches is sweet and nutritious, and the flavor combination of peaches, walnuts, coconut Greek yogurt, brown sugar, basil, and za’atar is unexpected yet seriously delightful. I drew inspiration for this summer dessert from Al’s Place, a restaurant in San Francisco where Chef Aaron London puts gorgeous, in-season produce on the pedestal it deserves.

{If you think the basil and za’atar are too out there for your kids, leave ’em out. The dessert will be just as luscious albeit a bit less intriguing.}

Gosh. Where to begin?

I’ve been a road warrior all summer.

Between work trips and fun getaways, I’ve been to Nantucket, New York, New Hampshire, Cleveland, DC, and as far west as Sacramento and San Francisco. Throughout my travels, I ate some terrific meals, but the most memorable by far was at Al’s Place, voted America’s Best New Restaurant last year by Bon Appetite. It was the chef’s dessert of slow roasted peach, basil/corn, candied za’atar, and coconut cream that took my breath away and my taste buds to a whole new level …

… And it just so happens that the theme for this month’s Recipe Redux blogger cooking challenge was to cook up a healthy recipe inspired by an unforgettable meal enjoyed while traveling. There was no doubt in my mind that Chef London’s peach dessert was the perfect recipe for this assignment.

… And that my friend, Suzanne, was the perfect accomplice for the meal. We’re both pretty food obsessed. (Our chef crush is Yotam Ottolenghi). At Al’s, we ordered a bunch of things from the menu, and other than the dessert which really blew us away, we adored the salad, which the waitress insisted we eat with our fingers, not our forks. Sadly I didn’t take a picture of the experience since my hands were dirty 😉

This is a restaurant where fruits and vegetables are the stars at every course. Chef London is a garden guru of sorts. He turns even the humblest ingredients into things like blue dane radish with preserved meyer lemon butter, baby lettuces with herbed avocado and pistachio crumble, brine pickled french fries with smoked apple sauce, and cod with black lime and stone fruit curry.

Meat is literally served as a side dish at Al’s Place. Here’s a link to the menu if you don’t believe me.

OK. So back to my recreation of that crazy-good peach dessert.

Admittedly I should have asked a few more questions about the dessert. I know it was made with roasted peaches sourced from California’s Central Valley.  And I know there was some sort of coconut whipped cream on top as well as delicate baby basil leaves and candied za’atar. It’s the za’atar that surprised me. {Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice made with thyme, toasted sesame seeds, sumac, and salt.} But how they candied it, I do not know.

My ‘reduxed’ version takes just a few minutes to make, so anyone can assemble it easily for dessert. I may try canned peaches in the coming months when fresh is out of season.

4.5 from 2 reviews

Sautéed Peaches with Walnuts, Coconut Yogurt, and Basil Za'atar Dust

 

Author: Liz

Recipe type: Dessert

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For my interpretation, I sliced up two peaches and sauteed them in a bit of butter and brown sugar. I then topped those sweet sliced gems with toasted walnuts, coconut Greek yogurt (Chobani and Siggi's offer a coconut flavor), fresh basil, and a dusting of za'atar. This dessert seems fancy, but it's surprisingly easy. Oh, and by the way, my friend Suzanne stopped by to taste the dessert and gave it her seal of approval!

Ingredients

• 2 ripe (yet slightly firm) peaches, halved, pitted, and cut into 12 to 14 thin slices
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
• ¼ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• One 5.3 ounce carton coconut Greek yogurt
• Chopped fresh basil
• Za'atar

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add half the peaches in a single layer, and cook until golden on the bottom, about 1 minute. Flip each slice, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and half of the brown sugar, and cook 1 more minute. Divide the cooked peaches between 2 single-serving bowls and set aside.
3. Repeat with the remaining peaches, salt, and brown sugar. (You don't need to add more butter, since there will be enough left in the skillet.)
4. Top each bowl of fruit with the walnuts and a few spoonfuls of the yogurt; sprinkle with basil and za'atar to taste.

3.5.3226

What’s the best thing you ate on vacation this summer? I can’t wait to hear about your adventures.