Many moons ago, one of my sister’s lived next to a peach orchard and worked for a peach packer. The peaches were eat-them-over-a-sink-juice-running-down-your-arm delicious.
I was spoiled, forever.
Nowadays, fresh peaches can really be really hit-or-miss – they’re picked for shipping, not peak flavor.
And… there’s the very simple fact that I no longer work in a grocery store and am not privy to the best of the best 5 days a week. (And, yes, store employees do often grab that ‘perfect’ product before it can hit the shelves. Jobs have their perks.)
Since frozen fruit is generally picked at peak ripeness, it’s a great substitute for some – not all – recipes. At our latest shopping trek to Trader Joe’s, I picked up a bag of just-in-case frozen peaches. And today, it seemed like the perfect time to use them!
We had a few hot peppers in the veg bin that needed using up and I was planning grilled pork chops for dinner, so a spicy peach sauce to go over them seemed like a match made in culinary heaven.
Peach Pepper Sauce
- 1 lb frozen peach slices, thawed and roughly chopped
- 3 serrano chilis, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
- pinch salt
Lightly sauté onion, pepper, and garlic in medium saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and then simmer until thickened.
Serve hot, cold, or room temperature.
This was a throw-together sauce. It can easily be expanded upon with different vinegars, different peppers – sambal oelek would work well – a bit of rum or whisky, fresh herbs… you get the idea.
The pork chops morphed into pork kebabs with a vaguely Asian-inspired marinade.
Totally versatile – it will go on anything. And you ca control the heat and sweetness to your own liking!