Wine-Soaked Peaches & Heirloom Tomato, Plum, & Burrata Salad
Recipes from the farmer's market.
August at the farmer’s market is a seriously joyful thing, the colors unlike any other time of year. Each heirloom tomato is speckled and tie-dyed, and the golds, straw yellows, ambers, and corals of peaches, plums, and nectarines are begging to be tried.
It’s also, frankly, way too hot to turn on the stove. So here are two recipes I whipped up this week (one isn’t really a recipe at all), that will help you take full advantage of the simple pleasures of the august farmers market before they’re gone, and don’t require much work other than chopping up a bit of produce (and popping open a bottle of wine). As for the fairytale eggplants… I’m saving that recipe for another newsletter.
Wine-Soaked Peaches (and Plums, and Nectarines)
We’ve all had of Sangria, the frankly inspired Spanish idea to soak fruit like apples and oranges in wine, and often add sugar, spices, or liquor to add some oomph. An Italian version is even simpler — for Pesche al Vino, when peaches are at their peak, they’re soaked in a local white wine with sugar and lemon. But right now, when peaches (and other stone fruit like nectarines and plums) are bursting out of their delicate skins, so juicy they feel heavy in your hand, I don’t think you need sugar at all.
This week, the ripest fruit I could find was peaches and plums, so I cut them, still warm, into a pitcher of cold white wine, muddled them with a wooden spoon, and let them sit in the fridge for hours on end, until the wine was soaked in their juices, and vice versa.
In the beginning, I chose white wines that have stone fruit tasting notes, like Pinot Grigio, to complement them and make them even sweeter. But after trying a few different mixes, I found I was leaning more towards whites that were lightly acidic to contrast the sweetness of the fruit, like Sauvignon Blanc or Albarino. You can also have some fun by muddling them in bubbly — a cremant, Champagne, or prosecco will do. We also played with soaking them in a bottle of orange wine, but if you do, opt for one with an acidic bite. I tried a rounder, amber style, and there wasn’t enough tension to make the drink as interesting (and as enjoyable) as it could be.
Like the Italians, you can always add a touch of lemon juice or sugar for your tastes, or muddle in a sprig or two of mint or basil, but if the peaches, plums, or nectarines you find are as incredibly juicy as they are right now, I don’t think you need to add anything at all. Don’t forget to eat the slices out of the glass once you’re done. That’s the best part.
Heirloom Tomato, Plum, & Burrata Salad
Most Wednesdays, my friend Haley and I make an excuse to throw a light-lift dinner party while we practice blind-tasting wines. She hosts at her apartment, so she often handles the mains that need to be cooked, and I take care of the sides.
This week, I spotted orange-flecked Roma tomatoes and a highlighter-yellow heirloom that I couldn’t not bring home with me. (It was a 103 real feel that day, so I forgot to write down the varieties! Just choose whatever speaks to you.) There were also yellow Mirabelle plums that were nearly translucent, they were so ripe, the skin tart and the flesh sweeter than you can imagine. On the way home, I also picked up some burrata. I hauled the ingredients in a cooler bag to her apartment on the UES, and the dish came together in minutes. We ate the salad as-is, but you can serve it with fresh, crunchy, crusty bread, or do what I did and save a bit for when Haley presents her garlic and cherry tomato wood-fired pizza. Dragging the crust of her (frankly, amazing) pizza through the salad’s juices was one of the best bites I’ve had in a while.
Heirloom Tomato, Plum, & Burrata Salad
2 large, ripe heirloom tomatoes
6 small, ripe, Mirabelle plums
1 lb of burrata
A handful of basil
A handful of mint
Good extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Salt & Pepper
Cut the heirloom tomatoes and plums into small wedges and scatter them on a platter, and place the burrata in the middle. Ensure that each piece of plum and tomato, and the burrata ball get a shower of salt and pepper. Tear a handful of basil and mint over the platter. Finish with a few healthy drizzles of great olive oil. Let sit for at least ten minutes for everything to soak up the seasoning. Once ready to serve, cut the burrata ball in half at the table (wait for an oooh and maybe an aahh) and top the gooey inside with more salt, pepper, and olive oil. Serve with warm, fresh crusty bread or on its own.