Peach-Thyme Bellini

Friday, October 21, 2011

Since moving to San Francisco three years ago, I've come to realize that I am a seasons person. I love the crisp, crunchy leaves in autumn, the way it smells just before it snows, the first hint of green as spring unfolds and the hours by the pool only permissible (or enjoyable) in summer.

San Francisco's got none of that.

So I've found I have to fake it, and the best way to do that is with food. In the summer, we eat spicy foods to mimic real heat, and we turn to roasted vegetables and savory spices in the fall even if the temperatures remain the same. One of my favorite fall flavors is thyme, and when I saw a cocktail that combined lush peaches, bubbly and this aromatic little herb, I was sold!


Peach-Thyme Bellini

1/4 pound of peaches, approximately 1 1/2 cups chopped
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 bottle of Prosecco or sparkling wine

In a heavy saucepan, heat the peaches, sugar, lemon juice, and thyme sprigs over medium heat until the mixture is thick and syrupy, approximately 8 – 10 minutes. Remove the peach mixture from heat and allow the mixture cool. Remove the thyme sprigs and discard. Purée the peach mixture in a blender until smooth.

Spoon three tablespoons of the peach purée into a champagne flute. Pour in Prosecco or sparking wine and stir until combined. Garnish with peach slice or sprig of thyme.


Notes: I halved the original recipe, because how often are you making brunch cocktails for 10? If you're planning on going on an elegant bender, just double your quantities! The peach purée can be made up to 2 days in advance, so feel free to make the celebration last the whole weekend long.


Image and Recipe by Nealey Dozier via the Kitchn.

37 comments:

  1. Yummy! Can't wait to try this. Have a great weekend!

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  2. Um, yes please :) I could definitely use one of those...

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  3. I could use one of these right about now. Happy Friday!

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  4. John makes fun of me because I only ever order drinks with peach or raspberry in them...this is definitely something I would get! :) By the way, the peach motif in general this week has been one of my favorites!! xoxo

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  5. now this is a perfect friday recipe.

    cheers,
    Annina
    www.cinchedatthewaist.com

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  6. Delish! I need one of these for Sunday brunch. Have a wonderful weekend~

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  7. i love peach and seasons! I figured that out after I moved to Florida! Yay for pretending!

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  8. Yum, yum and yum. And I know what you mean about seasons. We don't have them in San Diego either...different than SF, but still. I'm in Novato right now and it's so funny how literally just 25 minutes north of SF there are seasons. Not like the East Coast...but I mean it's warm and dry during the summer/crisp cool in autumn, rainy in winter, and cool/sunny in spring.

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  9. Sounds heavenly. In Austin, I got a orange-thyme truffle from Whole Foods and man oh man. . . SO GOOD! :)

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  10. At first at thought you said elegant blender and I was like whats an elegant blender and would my blender feel bad if I got one....elegant bender makes much more sense

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  11. It was finally cool last night so I insisted we had to have soup and corn bread - the right scents, food, and drinks do help to make it feel seasonally appropriate :)

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  12. Wow it's a small world - Nealey Dozier, the photographer and creator of the recipe (thanks for attributing!) is a friend of mine, and I just discovered your blog (and love it) a couple days ago. In fact, I posted a little piece on my blog about how much I like your blog. Small world packed with lots of creative amazing women. Love it.

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  13. Yes! Definitely my kind of drink!

    I have to admit, I would love the seasons more if we cut winter completely out of the mix. As much as I love fall, it's such a tragically short season. And it leads into my least favorite season of all. Womp womp! I'll take San Francisco weather, please.

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  14. lol @ elegant bender. I think this sounds fabulous. I love a good bellini.

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  15. So glad you liked my recipe! It's one of my favorite things to sip all summer long. If only I'd planned in advance and frozen some puree to pull out in the depths of winter... Oh, well. There's always next year!

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  16. It's so true! SF has no seasons! But I love that it's always cardigan weather. That in and of itself makes me happy.

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  17. LOL Oh no :/ so true about San fran. But Even the constant fog is fun i think :) I love this time of year for those very same reasons :)

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  18. we served bellini's at our wedding; we love them, too.

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  19. love the idea of the thyme in drink...i must try it!

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  20. I'm a season person too! I'm lucky to live in Utah where we get all four (a little heavy on the winter side). This drink looks delicious, I'll have to give it a try. Enjoy your "autumn".

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  21. delcious! this flavor combo sounds amazing

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  22. this looks simply wonderful! happy weekend, lena!

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  23. I swear here it's jumped straight from Summer to Winter - what happened to Autumn?! That drink sounds fab too.

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  24. I do the same thing! Where did you live before SF?

    That sounds so yummy. Saving for a baby shower, which some may say is cruel because the mother to be can't drink, but whatever...

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  25. That's actually quite genius to create seasons with food. And this drink is no exception...I would have never thought of thyme. You need to write a book on fancy cocktails. Just sayin!

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  26. this sounds absolutely wonderful! perfect for this sunday, i have recently been obsessed with thyme, thanks for giving me another way to use it!

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  27. I can never decide which I'm more fond of: the taste of this drink or the delightful name. Belliniiiiiii! Weeeeeee!

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  28. Delightful!! the picture is very apealling as well!!

    XOXO

    http://thedandydoll.blogspot.com/

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  29. This sounds so tasty, especially with the little touch of thyme

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  30. This might be a reason to start growing thyme... : )

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  31. this recipe sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!

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