WHITE-WINE-POACHED PEACHES WITH WHOLEMEAL SHORTBREAD

There is such a quiet beauty in poached fruit, soft enough to give way to your spoon but firm enough to hold their shape. Peaches are one of my favourites to poach – the colour is pleasing and, served cold, they make a most refreshing summery dessert. They are perfect to make ahead; as the peaches sit in the syrup, they’ll soak up even more flavour.

SERVES 4

H 450ml white wine

H 200g caster sugar

H pared zest (using a swivel peeler) of 1 lemon

H 3 sprigs of thyme

H 4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted

For the shortbread

H 100g salted butter

H 40g caster sugar, plus extra to finish

H 130g wholemeal flour

H ½ tbsp cornflour

H chilled cream, to serve

1 Put the wine, sugar, lemon zest and thyme in a large saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then add the peach halves, cut side down. Poach gently for 5 minutes, then flip over the fruit and poach for another 2-3 minutes – they should be soft enough for a knife to pierce through but still hold their shape. If your peaches are very firm, they’ll take a bit longer. 2 Turn off the heat, scoop the peaches out of the liquid and place them cut-side down on a plate. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins – they should peel off quite easily. If you’re making these ahead of time, let the poaching liquid cool and pour it into an airtight container, then add the peaches. Store in the fridge until needed.

3 To make the shortbread, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line a small lipped baking tray with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together for 1-2 minutes – you don’t need it to be super fluffy, just well combined. Tip in the flour and cornflour and stir until you get a thick dough.

4 Pat the dough into the lined tray, flattening it as much as you can. Use a knife to score the shortbread into fingers (don’t cut all the way through) and prick each biscuit with a fork.

5 Bake the shortbread for

20-25 minutes until lightly browned. Sprinkle generously with sugar then slice it into fingers, using the scored lines to guide you. Let the shortbread cool completely before serving alongside the peaches, chilled cream and poaching liquid.

Make ahead

Prepare the peaches up to 2 days ahead and store in the fridge with the poaching liquid. The shortbread can be made up to 2 days ahead.