buttermilk souffle with white peach sauce

When I dropped by Tenney's farmstand yesterday, I almost missed the white peaches. Which would have been a shame, because these native New Hampshire peaches are amazing. Sweet, juicy, heady with peach perfume. So what if they aren't pretty? They're so juicy they tend to fall apart at that perfect ripeness moment - so grab a napkin and forgive the mess.

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I didn't want to cook the peaches, so I made a simple buttermilk souffle, pureed the peaches with a little nutmeg and honey, then made a delicious, pale pink pool of perfect peach puree, and spooned the souffle on top. Mmmmm, so good!

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Buttermilk Souffle

serves six

Preheat oven to 350F.

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1/4 cup King Arthur all purpose flour

pinch kosher salt

1 1/3 cups lowfat buttermilk

4 T. melted unsalted butter

3 large eggs, separated

2/3 cups sugar, divided in half

1/4 t. nutmeg

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Butter a souffle dish. Set aside.

Place egg whites in mixer bowl and whip til frothy, then slowly add 1/3 cup sugar and whip until it forms stiff peaks.

Scrape the egg whites onto a plate and set aside.

Without washing the bowl, Add the buttermilk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 t. nutmeg, the pinch of salt, and the egg yolks and melted butter, and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Using a sieve, sprinkle the flour into the egg yolk/buttermilk mix.

Fold the stiff egg whites into the egg yolk mixture slowly.

Scrape into buttered souffle dish and back for about 40 minutes.

It should be golden and quite firm, and a little puffy.

Remove to cooling rack.

The Peach puree:

5 peaches, perfectly ripe, peeled and cut up

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of kosher salt

about 1 T. honey

Puree peaches in blender or food processor. Pour a few tablespoons onto a dessert plate or a wine glass, and top with a spoonful of the souffle. If you have some amaretti cookies , put a few in a plastic bag, zip shut, and roll with a rolling pin. Sprinkle on top of the souffle and peach sauce.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day!