Ask Digestivo: Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?
Bitch, I might. Unrelatedly, can anyone tell me what Usher was doing at 7 o'clock?
Hello again, sweet, sticky, and sweaty readers – we’re back with another round of questions and answers, whether you like it or not! This week, we’ve put together a juicy roundup of recipes ripe for summer’s fruity bounty. Plus, a brief meditation on what seaside culinary luxury can look like. As always, we’re ready and a little too available to answer your beck and call. So call us. But actually, email us at askdigestivo at gmail dot com. Xoxo!!!
In the spirit of continuing your publication’s signature Italian summer cosplay, what are some of your favorite and perhaps unexpected uses for peak-season stone fruit and berries?
—Elio
Dear peachfucker, you’ve come to the right place. (There is undoubtedly a joke to be made here about coming inside a peach, but to us highbrow folk it feels like low hanging fruit. Have we lost you yet?) Now, where were we… yes, of course, hot fruit. The seasoned reader probably knows that for us, the GOAT in this category is undoubtedly David Leite’s blueberry crumble, which can be easily adapted for whatever fruit you have on hand and can also be prepared in all of five minutes. The filling is minimalist, but you could throw in a pinch of cinnamon, cardamom, and/or allspice to suit your taste; the topping, essentially a soft-baked oatmeal cookie, is best mixed by hand. It is best served with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – we’re unabashed sluts for corn dessert, and this sexy little strawberry balsamic black pepper cobbler was one of the first we shared with you. It’s not often we recommend balsamic on this here newsletter, so you know it’s legit. Gjelina’s strawberry rhubarb polenta crisp and Smitten’s peach blueberry cobbler are two additional standbys, both of which are mentioned in that very issue. All should be served with barely sweetened whipped cream. In short: we have changed, but we’re still the same.
Speaking of corn, while it’s technically neither “stone fruit” nor berry, I (SB) would be remiss not to share that I recently had a transcendent experience with some mais con yelo at the Queens Night Market. It made me fantasize about getting a shaved ice maker to try my hand at all sorts of frozen fruit confections. First on my list would be this milky strawberry ice; I would venture that a cherry version would be sublime as well.
For snacking cakes, you’d be hard pressed to come up with something better than my (JS) Nanny Reeva’s blueberry cake, a Maida Heatter-inspired sour cream coffee number heaped with buttery cinnamon sugar streusel. Like many of my most trusted recommendations, I feel strongly that it peaks in flavor and texture one day after it’s baked. Alison Roman’s raspberry ricotta cake and Smitten’s raspberry buttermilk cake are slightly less sweet, and could well veer into “should we be bad?” breakfast territory. (SB: You should!) Jerelle Guy’s strawberry spooncake is perhaps more pudding than strict cake, but it absolutely slaps and can be made with any berry, frozen or fresh. A scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla is vital accompaniment. And when the Italian prune season arrives, signaling that summer is tragically on the wane, there’s no better recipe than Marian Burros’ famous plum torte. Taking after my mother, I’ll (JS) make four to six and freeze them for a reliable midwinter antidote to SAD.
Double-crust pies are not for the faint of heart, but if you’re going to take the plunge, we’re all in on Four and Twenty Blackbirds sour cherry pie – I (JS) can’t explain why there is a whole egg in the filling, but the texture is sublime and you wouldn’t be able to tell in a blind test. FWIW, I’ve also quite enjoyed a version of this with a nectarine or two mixed into the filling. While we’re here, a general word to the wise for all fruit pies – it’s really hard to overbake a fruit pie, so we’d always err toward bien cuit. A Pyrex pie plate is another key to ensuring your crust is evenly baked and avoiding soggy bottoms.
For something a little less labor-intensive, might we recommend Missy Robbins’ amaretti-crusted raspberry cream pie, inspired by the iconic fresh fruit and cream pies from Briermere Farms out on the North Fork? Likewise high in reward and low in effort is Claire Ptak’s crumble tart, written for foraged mulberries but easily adapted for whatever fruit you’ve got on hand.
And of course, the beauty of summer’s stone fruit bounty is that it’s pretty delicious all by itself, or lusciously topping some Greek yogurt, or our beloved Cocojune. Drizzle on some coriander honey to really gild the lily.
Inquiring and indulgent minds need to know: What’s the most luxurious food to bring to the beach?
—St Barthelemy
Speaking scientifically, we’d go with caviar. Lumpfish roe on ice, if you, like us, are balling on a budget. Try it with potato chips, or, for a beach-friendly snack, slathered between two pieces of white bread with creme fraiche. A few slices of cucumber might be nice.
Speaking more metaphorically, luxury is in the eye of the luxuriant: an extra large hoagie (Defonte’s Nicky Special, perhaps), artisanal donuts, sliced watermelon (with or without soju) or mango with chili and lime all spring to mind. Some might argue that the mere act of keeping cut fruit at a slight chill on a hot beach is the height of luxury – a thoughtfully packed cooler can work wonders. Rumor has it, it’s extra luxe if you eat any of these topless at Riis.
PETITS FOURS
This might be old news, but I (SB) can’t recommend a trip to Queens Night Market highly enough. I just made it over there for the first time and believe me when I say. I ate everything.
Watch this: After basically streaming Usher’s excellently curated Tiny Desk Concert on loop for the past month, I (JS) was pleased to stumble upon this unexpected gem featuring the iconic Alan Menken.
We continue to mourn the dissolution of the Desus & Mero partnership in the way we know best: reading every piece of yerrpocalypse coverage breathlessly.
A loophole in the election law and the particularly chaotic nature of a double-primary-summer has made the August 23 primary effectively open if you’re the kind of person inclined to change your party affiliation to juice the system. Make sure you’re registered by July 29th and know who’s running in your likely bizarrely redistricted district!!!