Seared Figs and White Peaches with Balsamic Reduction (Britt Carlson)

a story

Being a pastor has its perks. When I worked at the church in Texas we had a cooking camp every summer for kids. It was a. big. deal. 40 seven-year-olds were cooking over open flames. 30 five-year-olds were cutting with sharp knives. And thanks to the Holy Spirit's divine grace intervention no one got hurt. I was assigned to help with the "dessert room." I walked into the room having no idea what we were going to make and walked out with one of my favorite recipes ever: seared figs and white peaches with balsamic reduction. It's so easy and so delicious. I make it usually late summer/early fall when figs and peaches are in season. The crème fraiche is unbeatable and you can find it at Freddy's. Don't worry about adding the peppercorns--I stopped doing that years ago. Yum, yum, yum.

a recipe

Seared Figs and White Peaches with Balsamic Reduction
from myrecipes.com https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/seared-figs-white-peaches-with-balsamic-reduction

Ingredients

1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
4 firm ripe white peaches (about 1 3/4 pounds), halved and pitted
8 firm ripe Black Mission figs, halved lengthwise (about 1 pound)
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup crème fraîche
⅛ teaspoon salt

Directions

Step 1
Cook peppercorns in a small skillet over medium heat 6 minutes or until fragrant and toasted. Cool. Place peppercorns in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Crush peppercorns with a meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside.

Step 2
Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; stir in 1 teaspoon thyme. Add peaches, cut sides down, to pan. Cook 2 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan. Place 1 peach half, cut sides up, on each of 8 plates. Melt remaining 1 teaspoon butter in pan; stir in remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Add figs, cut sides down, to pan; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Place two fig halves on each plate.

Step 3
Add vinegar to pan; cook over medium-low heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Cool slightly. Spoon about 2 teaspoons crème fraîche into the center of each peach half; drizzle about 1 teaspoon vinegar mixture over each serving. Sprinkle each serving with about 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

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