PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: This is an excelleny way to make use of the puff pastry dough--either home-made or store-bought--into a spectacular dessert in the summertime, when peaches are delicious and ripe.

PEACH MILLE FEUILLE:

 

 

 

 

1 quantity of prepared puff pastry, see basic recipe

fillings:

    2/3 cup sugar                                                          

    2 cups water

    4 very ripe peaches                         

    1 ½ tbsp. icing sugar

    1 tbsp. grenadine                            

egg wash                                                                     

icing sugar to dust

 

 

 

Roll out puff pastry to between 1/8 & ¼-inch thickness. Using a 3 ½-inch diameter pastry cutter, cut out four circles and transfer them to a baking sheet. Chill pastries in refrigerator for 30 minutes.  

 

To peel peaches:  Make a cross at the bottom of each peach. Lower peaches into a pot of boiling water. Allow them to blanch for 40 seconds to 1 minute. then remove and transfer to a bowl of cold or ice water and let stand for a minute or so. Drain & pat dry; then start peeling skin off from the bottom where the cross has been made..

 

To make glaze:  Place sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add peaches and poach until tender. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve poaching liquid. Put 3 oz of the poaching liquid and the grenadine in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced by half. Keep warm.

 

To prepare pastries:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush each pastry with egg wash. Lightly press a 2 ¾-inch cutter onto the circle of dough to mark out the lids. With a sharp knife, score a cross on each lid. Transfer pastries to hot oven and bake for 10 minutes; then sprinkle icing sugar over the top and bake for another 3-5 minutes or until the sugar forms an attractive glaze. Remove from oven and transfer pastries to a wire rack. Run the tip of a knife around the marked lids and detach them carefully, lifting them off with the knife.

 

To assemble:  Arrange one pastry case on a serving plate and place a peach into each. Brush peaches with the reduced syrup; then top each filled pastry case with the lid, positioning it at a slant decoratively.  Dust with icing sugar and serve at once.