I have to give a big shout out to Manas Ranch in Esparto, CA.  They specialize in peaches and every year, I make sure to get at least one box of their juicy, flavorful O’Henry peaches when they come into season.  (They are the best!)  Another cool thing about Manas Ranch is that you can sign up for email alerts so that you can know when fruits come into season and are available for sale.  With this season’s box of O’Henrys, other than eating gobs of them just as they are and making a good deal of them into jam, I had to make a few desserts as well.  This one is sure to please!

Deconstructed Peach Turnover (A La Mode)

1 sheet puff pastry
2 teaspoons raw sugar
Caramel sauce (for drizzle)
5 peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon flour
2 tablespoons butter
Vanilla ice cream of your choice
Fresh mint leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry just slightly.  Place puff pastry on an ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle with the raw sugar and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.  Bake pastry for 15 minutes or until nicely golden and puffed.  Remove from oven.  While still hot, drizzle pastry with caramel sauce and let cool.  Once cool, using a sharp knife, cut pastry into 12 squares.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, toss together sliced peaches, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg by hand.  In a sautee pan on medium heat, melt butter.  Sautee peach mixture in pan, tossing occasionally just until peaches are hot.  Do not overcook the peaches as they become mushy.  Remove from heat.

The assembly:

Place a puff pastry square on a plate, top with warm peach mixture, vanilla ice cream and drizzle more caramel sauce on top.  Garnish with fresh mint leaves.  While normally I would call this kind of garnish “optional”, the mint really does add something to the flavor of the dish so have a bit of mint in each bite.

Eat Well!

~Trish