Peach Melba

Today I made a really retro pud: peach melba. I wanted a pudding to follow a lazy summery lunch, where you still have room for something sweet but can't force down a tart or rich chocolate mousse. As odd as it seems for such a glutton, I actually have days like that. This pudding fits the bill - a lovely soft peach cooked in sugar syrup, smothered in tangy raspberry sauce and befriended by a ball of vanilla ice cream. When you eat this, it feels like you should be living on the riviera, being glamorous, skidding about on a Vespa.

Inspired by Bill Granger's peach melba recipe in Bills Food 2

Serves 4

You will need:

4 fresh peaches
1 cup icing or caster sugar
2 cups water
150g fresh UK-grown raspberries (they have the best flavour)
Juice of half a lemon
Good quality vanilla ice cream - my fave is Green & Black's vanilla

Score the peaches on their bottoms with a criss cross cut to enable them to cook through.

Put your sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the peaches and simmer with the lid on until the peaches are tender (about ten minutes, you will need to turn them over half way through so they cook evenly). Remove the peaches and put in a bowl to cool down. Boil the remaining sugar syrup until reduced by half, let it cool down a bit. Then whiz up your raspberries and the syrup in a blender with the juice of half a lemon. Press through a sieve to remove the seeds. Your peaches should be cool by now - peel the skins off. If the skins are being stubborn, use a knife to remove them.

Place one peach in a bowl per person, then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and pour over the raspberry sauce. If you have a packet of fan wafers available, these would be perfect right about now!

You could always divide the peaches in two and remove the stones before serving - I just couldn't be bothered.

Follow with a nice strong coffee. Note how Elvis is smiling at everyone in between the bowls in the above photo.