How to Make a Bellini with Homemade Peach Puree
It’s peach season! Break out the bubbly!
By Erin Henderson
When peach season rolls around in southern Ontario, people get very, very excited. Peach pie steals the headlines, with home bakers posting endlessly about their crusty creations.
Me? I celebrate this yearly harvest with a drink. A classic Bellini to be exact.
Related: How to Make a French 75
Now, you can easily use store-bought peach nectar, but where’s the fun in that? Making your own peach puree takes 30 minutes and is a delicious way to use up the local bounty. You can also add it to a white sangria, or a glass of neutral white wine for a seasonal riff on a Kir.
And yes, you can add it to ice cream, too.
Bellini with Homemade Peach Puree
The Bellini – the Venetian, sparkling wine cocktail that blends Prosecco with peach nectar, is especially fabulous with locally grown peaches (which is how it’s done in Venice.) Whipping up your own puree is so satisfying and takes only a few minutes for a truly elevated drink.
Makes: 1 drink and about ¾ litre of puree
Chef level: moderate
Ingredients:
- 2 cups peeled and sliced local, very ripe peaches
- 1-2 Tbsp white sugar
- ¼ cup simple syrup
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 4 oz prosecco
- Peach slices, for garnish
How to Make It:
For the Puree:
- Peel and pit your peaches, cutting them into smaller chunks
- To a sauté pan set over med-low heat, sprinkle a little water on the bottom so it’s just wet, and add your peaches, sprinkle with a little sugar.
- Cook the peaches until they break down and get really sweet and jammy.
- Scoop all the peaches and accumulated syrup into a high speed blender.
- Add the simple syrup, salt and lemon juice and whiz until well pureed.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean jar and refrigerate until needed, up to three days.
- If your puree is too thick for your liking, thin it out with a little bit of water or weak simple syrup*.
For the Bellini:
- Add 1 Tbsp peach puree to the bottom of a flute, top with prosecco.
- Garnish with a fresh peach slice.
* Weak simple syrup is a blend of more water to sugar, for a gently sweet and less viscose syrup. Try ¾ water to ¼ sugar, dissolved over low heat and cooled.
