Follow
from Canal House Cooks Everyday
Ingredients
4 ripe peaches
1 cup sugar
1 handful fresh lemon verbena leaves
Method
For the lemon verbena syrup, put the sugar and 1 cup
water into a heavy medium saucepan. Heat over medium-
low heat, gently swirling the pan to help dissolve the sugar.
When the syrup comes to a boil, cover the pan to let the
steam wash away and dissolve any sugar granules still on
the side of the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the
pan from the heat. Uncover the pan and add the verbena
leaves. Cover and let steep.
Blanch the peaches in a pot of gently boiling water over
medium heat for 15-30 seconds to loosen the skin from
the flesh. Lift the peaches out of the water with a slotted
spoon. Slip off their skins and put the skins into the syrup
in the saucepan. Cover and set aside to let steep for at
least 15 minutes. The syrup will turn a pretty pink.
Slice the peaches in half and pull out and discard the pit.
Put the peaches cut side down in a deep dish in a single
layer. Strain the syrup over them (it’s fine if the syrup is still
warm; it will bring out the perfume of the fruit), and add a
few or the verbena leaves to the dish. Let the peaches rest
in the syrup for at least 30 minutes, turning one or twice
before serving. Covered, they will keep in the fridge for up
to 2 days
