Andrea Da Meranos Semifreddo Di Amaretti With Fresh Peaches Recipes

SEMIFREDDO AMARETTI WITH FRESH PEACHES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they thicken. Add the half-cup of amaretti crumbs and continue beating for five minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically, until the color of the mixture becomes light and the texture quite thick. Stir in the liqueur, if desired.
• In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites at medium speed until they foam. With the mixer at high speed, slowly add one-half cup of confectioner's sugar. Continue beating until the egg whites hold firm - but not stiff -peaks, about three more minutes.
• In a chilled bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft - but not stiff -peaks.
• Fold together the egg whites and the cream.
• Fold one quarter of the cream and egg white mixture into the egg yolks until they are well blended. Fold in the rest of the cream and egg white mixture by halves, deflating the mixture as little as possible.
• Turn the mixture into custard cups, individual molds, a loaf pan or an ice-cube tray without the separator. Cover well with plastic. Freeze for two to three hours. Semifreddo will keep in freezer for several weeks.
• When ready to serve, plunge the peaches into boiling water for 15 seconds. Rinse under cold water, peel and slice very thinly. Toss with lemon juice and the remaining one-half cup confectioner's sugar, adding sugar according to taste.
• Dip the molds (or mold) briefly into hot water and turn out the semifreddo. Serve individual portions or slices of semifreddo, surrounded by peach slices. Garnish the semifreddo (but not the peaches) with broken pieces of amaretti.

PEACH PRALINE SEMIFREDDO WITH AMARETTI

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide semifreddo off bottom), then lock on side and oil pan.
• Stir together ground amaretti and melted butter in a bowl until combined well, then press evenly over bottom and up side of springform pan. Bake until crust is firm and a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, 20 to 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Make praline:
• Spread nuts in a shallow baking pan and toast in oven, stirring once or twice, until fragrant and golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer nuts to a bowl. Lightly oil same baking pan.
• Cook sugar in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is a dark amber.
• Immediately stir in nuts, then pour mixture into oiled baking pan and let stand to harden and cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Break praline into pieces, then pulse in cleaned food processor until finely chopped.
• Make semifreddo:
• Pit and coarsely chop peaches, with skins if desired, then purée in cleaned food processor with crushed vitaminutes C, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Force thourough a medium-mesh sieve set over a large metal bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids.
• Stir in egg yolks, then place bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and beat with mixer until mixture is thick and pale and registers 140°F on an instant-read thermometer, then beat 3 minutes more (do not let boil).
• Remove bowl from saucepan and set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. Add almond extract and beat until cold, about 6 minutes.
• Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in another bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks.
• Fold one third of cream into peach mixture, then fold in praline and remaining cream gently but thoroughly. Pour mixture into cooled crust and freeze, covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 3 hours. Let stand in refrigerator 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
• Make peach topping while semifreddo stands in refrigerator:
• Cut an X in bottom of each peach, then blanch in a medium saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Peel peaches and cut into 1/2-inch wedges.
• Toss peaches with crushed vitaminutes C and sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes.
• Spoon peaches over semifreddo with a slotted spoon just before serving.

PEACHES STUFFED WITH AMARETTI COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Using a melon baller, clean out the red flesh from the center of each peach. Arrange the peaches cut side up in the prepared dish. In the bowl of a food processor, add the amaretti cookies and pulse until finely crumbled. Divide the amaretti crumbs between the peaches. Fill the center of each peach with the amaretti cookie crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar over each. Dot each peach with 1/2 teaspoon of butter.
• Bake until the peaches are tender and the filling is crisp on top, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

GRILLED PEACHES WITH AMARETTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat a grill with a single layer of charcoal. When the coals are hot, brush the grill with a little oil to make sure the peaches don't stick. Place the peaches, cut side down, on the grill and cook for a few minutes, until they're slightly charred.
• Place the peaches in an oven-proof dish, sprinkle each half with a little vanilla sugar. Combine the rum and amaretto and drizzle 1/2 of it on the peaches. Bake the peaches for about 10 minutes, until they're very tender. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold with crumbled amaretti cookies on top or with the cookies on the side. I like to serve them with a dollop of creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.
• Vanilla Sugar:
• Find a jar tall enough to hold 2 vanilla beans. Fill the bottle with sugar and cover tightly. Store on a pantry shelf. After about 3 months you will have a wonderful ingredient for cooking and baking. Keep adding vanilla beans and sugar to the jar and you will have it for years.

ANDREA DA MERANO'S SEMIFREDDO DI AMARETTI WITH FRESH PEACHES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they thicken. Add the amaretto cookie crumbs and continue beating 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically, until the mixture becomes quite light in color and very thick. Stir in the liqueur.
• In a clean, dry bowl beat the egg whites until they foam. With the mixer at high speed continue beating, gradually adding 1/2 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Beat until the egg whites hold firm peaks, about 3 minutes longer.
• In a chilled bowl beat the cream until it holds soft peaks. Fold the egg whites and cream together.
• Fold one-quarter of the cream and egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture until well blended. Gently fold in the remaining cream and egg white mixture.
• Spread the mixture in 12 individual 1/2-cup custard cups or 8 six-ounce custard cups or molds or a 6-cup loaf pan or mold; cover with plastic wrap and freeze several hours or overnight. The semifreddo will keep at least a week in the freezer.
• Shortly before serving, plunge the peaches into boiling water 15 seconds, rinse under cold water, peel, pit and cut them into thin slices. Toss with remaining 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice.
• Dip the mold or molds briefly into hot water and turn out onto individual chilled plates or a serving platter. Surround with peach slices. Sprinkle the semifreddo with crumbled amaretto cookies and serve.