Garden to glass: Bellini with homegrown peaches

We had to rescue our peaches from the birds recently. Our peach tree is in a part of our property that I don’t visit every day, so I hadn’t realised there was a decent number of fruits beginning to ripen on the branches. We picked them while they were still firm so they could ripen safely in our fruit bowl. 

Since we planted our tree a few years ago I’ve been looking forward to being able to make a Bellini with homegrown peaches. The Bellini is a delightfully simple cocktail made by combining peach puree with Prosecco. The sweetness from the peaches pairs with light Italian sparkling wine to create a refreshing drink that’s perfect for brunch or early afternoon.  

Start by making the peach puree. I read a few different recipes but, in the end, decided to keep it simple. Traditionally Bellini are made with white peaches, but yellow will work too. That’s what we had so all I did was peel and slice the peaches and use my Magic Bullet to whiz them up.  

The best tip I got from reading Bellini recipes was to blanch the peaches in boiling water before trying to peel them. Use a sharp knife to cut a cross on the top of the fruit, then place them in boiling water for 20 seconds. After that the skin peels off easily, meaning most of the fruit and juice make it into the blender instead of the compost.  

I wasn’t happy with the consistency of my puree, so I just added some water to make it more pourable. One recipe I read said that the original version of a bellini included a few raspberries to give the drink an iconic pink hue. Since I was using yellow peaches and my kids had recently raided the raspberry plants, I opted to leave them out.  

Here’s the simple Bellini recipe: 

2 ounces peach puree 

Prosecco 

Chill the peach puree, prosecco and a champagne flute in the fridge. Add the peach puree to the chilled glass and top with Prosecco. Stir gently and enjoy.

While my Bellini tasted incredible, I didn’t think it looked as nice as ones I’ve had in the past that use white peach puree. Might have to plant another peach tree.