our grandmother makes an amazing sweet cold peach soup in summer, with spices, vanilla, and...verbena! it's kind of a "grown-up dessert" we didn't really like as children, but now we absolutely love it!
and the peach and verbena combination seems so right and perfect.
with fall upon us, the air is getting colder, but we don't really mind eating ice cream when it's cold outside. actually, we could eat ice cream all year long! plus you can still find some very decent peaches.
for this recipe we use both white and yellow peaches, but you can use only white ones if you prefer.
if the peaches you're using are not very sweet, don't hesitate to add more sugar.
it's important to chill the mixture for a long time before freezing it (overnight is better).
for about 1 liter:
6 ripe white peaches
2 ripe yellow peaches
190 g sugar
30 cl water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp honey
20 dry verbena leaves
prepare a syrup: in a saucepan, place water, lemon juice, sugar, honey and verbena and heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture boils. remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes so that the verbena can flavor the syrup. when it's done, remove verbena leaves using a strainer.
blanch the peaches in boiling water. let cool then peel the skin off. halve and remove pits.
cut roughly and put in a blender until smooth.
force this puree through a strainer into the verbena syrup mixture. whisk until combined.
chill the mixture overnight.
the next day, freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions (usually between 20 and 40 minutes).
transfer into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.
piece of advice:
an easy and quick way to blanch peaches if you own a kettle: boil water using a kettle. place the fruits in large bowl, then cover with boiling water. 5 minutes later, you can peel the skin off in no time!
