The Perfect Peach: Recipes and Stories from the Masumoto Family Farm [A Cookbook] - Hardcover

Featured Recipe from The Perfect Peach: Hearty Peach Cobbler

Makes one 9-inch square cobbler; serves 6-9

Filling

• 6 to 7 cups peeled and diced soft or gushy peaches
• 2 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping

• 2/3 cup rolled oats, preferably old- fashioned
• 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 to 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Have ready a 9-inch square baking dish.

To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the peaches, tapioca, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt, using the larger amount of sugar if your peaches aren’t very sweet. Mix gently with a large spoon to combine the ingredients evenly. Pour the filling into the baking dish and set aside.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the oats, granulated sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Sift together the flour and baking powder, add to the oat mixture, and whisk to combine. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, work in the butter until it is the size of small peas. Add the cream and buttermilk and mix with a fork just until evenly moistened.

Drop 1/4 cup clumps of the topping on top of the peach filling, distributing them evenly. Sprinkle the clumps with the turbinado sugar.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is golden and is baked all the way through (it should sound hollow when tapped with a spoon) and the peaches are bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. The filling will set as the cobbler cools. Serve at room temperature.

Featured Recipe from The Perfect Peach: Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 (2 1/2-pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, or 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (I like to use Pacifico or Negra Modelo)
• 4 firm to soft peaches, peeled, halved, and pitted
• 8 to 12 small corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the pork and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until browned. Transfer the pork to a slow cooker.

Add the cumin, onion, and garlic to the same skillet off the heat and warm, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Pour the water into the skillet to loosen any spices or browned bits stuck to the pan bottom. Pour the contents of the skillet over the meat.

Add the chile(s), oregano, salt, beer, and peaches to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. The meat is done when it easily falls apart with the gentle tug of a fork. Carefully shred the meat with two forks. Discard the juices, onions, and peaches or cool and store in the refrigerator for pork soup stock or other use.

To assemble each taco, layer 2 tortillas on top of each other and place about 1/4 cup of the meat in a mound on the tortillas, extending it across the middle. Add a little cabbage, a scoop of salsa, and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve warm.

DAVID MAS MASUMOTO is an organic peach and grape farmer, the author of numerous books, and a member of the National Council on the Arts. He is currently a columnist for the Fresno Bee, and has written for the New York Times magazine, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times. Mas’s first book, Epitaph for a Peach, won the 1995 Julia Child Cookbook Award for Literary Food Writing and was a finalist for the 1996 James Beard Foundation Food Writing Award. He owns and operates Masumoto Family Farm with his wife, Marcy, and daughter, Nikiko.
 
MARCY MASUMOTO, co-owner of Masumoto Family Farm, is responsible for the selection of peach varieties, develops recipes and peach products, and is actively involved with management and seasonal fieldwork.
 
NIKIKO MASUMOTO grew up slurping the nectar of overripe organic peaches on the Masumoto Family Farm and has never missed a harvest. She received her Master of Arts in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin. She works full-time on the family farm as a farm apprentice and artist.