# Peches Melba



## Weeks (Oct 18, 2004)

Sort of a new take on a classical Escoffier recipe, this is what I made for myself and my girlfriend last night after she made an -incredible- set of pork chops. She's trying to lose weight, so I decided to make it a little "lighter" than Escoffier's original.

*Pechés Melba*

4 cups fresh raspberries, washed
2+2 cups "Splenda"
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 very ripe peaches, halved & pitted
1 fresh vanilla bean (extract will do if unavailable)
1 quart vanilla bean ice cream

Combine the raspberries, 2 cups of Splenda, and lemon juice in a blender and pureé until smooth. Strain through a cheesecloth or coffee filter or a very fine strainer into a serving bowl (point is to remove pulp and seeds). Set aside in refridgerator.

Using a knife or zester, scrape the skin from the vanilla bean. You should come up with about a tablespoon of skin scraps from the bean. Boil 4 cups of water in a medium pot and add the remaining 2 cups of Splenda, vanilla bean scrapings and the peach halves. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until the peaches are fork-tender. (~10 min) Remove from heat an allow them to cool to room temp (~30 min), then transfer to the fridge and chill thoroughly (~1-2 hrs)

If you have any dessert dishes, use those, but we didn't have any on hand. I used margarita goblets instead. Fill the dishes halfway with the vanilla bean ice cream and let them soften. When the ice cream is soft enough, smooth it out so that it forms a nice, even surface in the middle of the dish and set them in the freezer so the ice cream solidifies in that form. You need the ice cream to be nice and stiff, so freeze it for at least a couple of hours.

Presentation: Remove the ice cream from the freezer and the peaches and raspberry pureé from the fridge. Place two peach halves opposite each other on top of the now-solid surface of ice cream. Ladle a few tablespoons of juices from the pot into the dish behind each peach. Next, drizzle over the top of and between the peaches the strained raspberry pureé. Add as much as you like, but for presentation purposes some ice cream should show through the sauces. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 very large servings.  8)  Enjoy!


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## mudbug (Oct 18, 2004)

Did you guys eat all four servings?


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## Weeks (Oct 18, 2004)

Heck no, there's some left for tonight. Just covered the pot of peaches and the raspberry pureé with saran wrap and left the ice cream in the freezer. We could have it again tonight if we really wanted to, but I think I'm gonna leave it for her to munch on as she likes, while she reads her books perhaps.


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## mudbug (Oct 18, 2004)

Admirable self-restraint on your parts.  Ice cream and pureed fruit is one of my many weaknesses.


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