Peaches with rosemary, almonds and honey, recipe

When ripe, peaches are a thing of beauty and must be treated carefully. Julia Platt Leonard shares her favourite way to enjoy the golden fruits

Aside from eating them au naturel, serve peaches sautéd with delicate flavourings

Peaches are a life lesson in carpe diem. When you find them, seize them but gently, because peaches are delicate with only a fuzzy coat to protect them. They are not good travellers and all too often you will find them at a market harder than a bowling ball.

But when you find them ripe they are a thing of beauty, perfumed and honeyed. They are lovely served with bits of mozzarella and prosciutto in a salad or baked into a cobbler or tart. Of course, the best idea is to eat them au naturel, slurping up the juices and licking your lips in joy.

For something special, I sauté peach halves in a mixture of honey, butter and rosemary. The rosemary infuses the mixture with a woody flavour that pairs perfectly with the luscious juiciness of a peach.

Peaches and almonds – they are in the same botanical genus – get along beautifully so are a natural combination.

Add a scoop of plain yoghurt or ice cream and you’re set. But come to think of it, don’t bother – these peaches are gorgeous just as they are.


 Sauté peach halves in a mixture of honey, butter and rosemary

Peaches with rosemary, honey & almonds

Serves 2 (one peach) or 4 (half a peach each)

2 ripe peaches
25g unsalted butter
2 tbsp runny honey
sprig of rosemary, plus additional rosemary to garnish 
25g sliced almonds


 The rosemary infuses the mixture with a woody flavour that pairs perfectly with the luscious juiciness of a peach

Slice the peaches in half. Put the butter, honey and rosemary sprig in a sauté pan that is large enough to hold the four peach halves. Cook the butter, honey, rosemary mixture over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the peach halves to the pan flesh-side down. Reduce the heat and cook for 5-7 minutes. The peaches should soften slightly but still remain firm. Remove the peaches from the pan. Add the sliced almonds, raise the heat and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Remove the rosemary sprig. Place a peach half (or two) on top of a scoop of plain Greek yoghurt, vanilla ice cream or simply as it is. Drizzle a bit of the butter, honey and almond mixture over each peach and add a rosemary sprig to garnish.