This is my wife’s favorite salad. She is mad for peaches but for the longest time could not touch them—the feel of the fuzzy skin made her gag. As a child her mom would peel them for her; later in life I got that job. She handles them better now. I think that peaches are treated somehow so they are not as fuzzy as they used to be, or maybe 15 years of cooking has rid her of that squeamishness. If you suffer from the same affliction, use nectarines instead, but the flat white peaches (also known as doughnut peaches) that are to be found in mid-summer are amazing for this recipe, and the combination with fresh coriander and roasted almonds is just perfect.
A light starter for 3–4
1 round lettuce (the soft-leaved one), broken into leaves and washed
3 flat white peaches (such as a doughnut or Saturn peach), each cut into 8 segments
4 oz/120g soft rindless goats’ cheese
⅓ cup/50g roasted almonds, roughly chopped
4–5 sprigs of cilantro, picked
a touch of sea salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
½ tsp orange blossom water
½ tsp Demerara sugar
a pinch of salt
Arrange the soft leaves as a base on a serving plate, then top with the peaches, goats’ cheese, almonds and cilantro leaves. Sprinkle with a touch of sea salt and grind a little black pepper over the top.
Shake the dressing ingredients around in a small jar or airtight container, then spoon over the entire salad. Serve and watch it disappear.