Summer Peach Tart

/

We are boat less!  It's a really weird feeling.  Green Flash is resting safe and sound on Tortola until the big move to the West Coast.  No doubt the two and a half months will go by in a flash... ha ha!  Before we know it, She will be here in Santa Barbara. 

For now, Hubby and I are settling back in Santa Barbara quite nicely.  I have to say though, it's been a bit overwhelming and exciting all at the same time.  There are so many choices!  We tried to go out to dinner the other night and Hubby and I really couldn't decide where to go.  And shopping... just knowing that I can find and buy anything at anytime has been pretty thrilling.  Oh, and not to mention... I've been in food heaven with all of the variety and abundance!  When you live and work on a boat, life is pretty simple.  There is a lot to be said about that too.  It's just different and has been a bit of an adjustment.  

One of the first things I wanted to do was go to the Farmer's Market to check out the summer bounty.  Whoah... talk about choices!  Amongst other things, the peaches were just too beautiful to pass up.

We were invited to a BBQ over the weekend and I offered to bring a desert.  A Peach Tart was the perfect way to put these beauties to good use.  What better way to celebrate the end of summer?!

I had a busy weekend so I made my crust and filling the day before.  All I had to do the next day was pour my mix into the crust, bake and finish off with my sliced peaches.

You can use a food processor, if you have one, to make the crust.  It's really not necessary though.  The old fashioned way using a chef's knife to chop the almonds and a rolling pin to crush the graham crackers works just fine.  Since I haven't had a food processor on Green Flash, I was pretty eager to pull mine out and use it again.  I prefer Greek yogurt in this recipe but you could also use sour cream. 

I made a Vanilla Bean Lavender Ice Cream to pair with this Peach Tart.  The lavender came from my garden.  The combination of peach and lavender is absolutely amazing.  There is nothing like homemade ice cream so I decided my Cuisinart ice cream maker will be a great addition to Green Flash.  I've been so excited thinking about all the new prospects and additions I'll be adding to my galley.

This Peach Tart recipe, which I adapted from foodandwine.com, really lets this beautiful summer fruit be the star of the show!

Peach Tart

Recipe Type:  Desert

Serves:  8

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 C Graham Crackers 
  • 1/2 C Almonds
  • 1/4 C plus 2 T Sugar
  • 5 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/4 C Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 firm ripe Peaches, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 1 T Apricot Preserves

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. In a food processor or by hand, pulse the Graham Crackers with Almonds and 2 tablespoons of the Sugar until fine.
  3. Add the melted Butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened.
  4. Press the crumbs into a 9 inch pie pan.
  5. Bake 10 minutes until crust is set.
  6. Mix Cream Cheese, Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream, Egg and 2 tablespoons of the Sugar and process until smooth.
  7. Pour mix into crust and bake for 15 minutes.
  8. Let cool and then freeze for 15 minutes.
  9. Sprinkle remaining sugar on the peaches and mix gently.
  10. Arrange the peaches over the custard.
  11. Heat apricot preserves with 1 teaspoon of water.  Let it cool slightly and brush it on top of peaches for a glossy finish.