Our Top Recipes for Niagara Peaches

In Ontario, August means one thing – peach season! It’s the last chance to enjoy the taste of summer. Peach season in Ontario starts in late July and early August and lasts through to September. These Niagara peaches can be enjoyed from a roadside fruit stand, in pies, jams and baked goods and sweet and savoury dishes, with peaches the possibilities are endless.

Pick the Best Peaches in the Niagara Region

You’ll find all sorts of farm stands in Niagara-on-the-Lake where you can buy fresh peaches from the very farmers who pick and grow them. Or, if you do your research you can find a farm where you can pick your very own peaches straight from the orchard!

To kick off peach season our Food & Beverage teams have created special recipes that can be made at home using fresh Niagara peaches. Enjoy these delicious peach appetizers and cocktail recipes compliments of our top restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake: 

• Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty,
• Noble Restaurant at Prince of Wales,
• Cannery Restaurant at Pillar and Post
• Tiara Restaurant at Queen’s Landing. 

Enjoy Peach-Inspired Dishes and Drinks

Fire Roasted Grain Fed Chicken Salad with Niagara Stone Fruit (Peaches) and White Honey Glaze

Compliments of Executive Chef Chris Smythe from Noble Restaurant at Prince of Wales

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts
3 Niagara peaches (pitted and skinned)
1 cup peach juice
1 garlic clove
1 ancho chili
1 tbsp white honey
1 bunch chives
Sea salt
2 oz olive oil
1 lb organic salad greens

Method:

Chop the peaches, garlic, ancho chili and place into a small sauce pot and simmer for 5 minutes with the peach juice.

Once the peach mixture has cooled blend with the honey, chives and half the olive oil.

Oil the chicken breasts and season with sea salt then grill until cooked through. When the chicken is finished, lather a generous amount of the peach glaze on the breast and add some nice salad greens and serve.

Niagara Bubbly Peach Cosmo

Compliments of Food & Beverage Manager Jeremy Harb from Noble Restaurant at Prince of Wales

Ingredients: 

1 oz Absolut Vodka
1 oz Peach Schnapps
White cranberry juice
Peach nectar
Sparkling peach wine of your choice

Method: 

Add all ingredients into a shaker.

Top with 1 oz of sparkling peach wine

Serve with a frozen peach slice

Grilled Peach Salad

Compliments of Executive Chef Sheila Polingga from Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 whole Niagara peaches, cut in half, pitted
6 oz spring mix greens
4 slices capicola/prosciutto
4 oz blue cheese
Handful of toasted pecans
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Method:

Roast peaches on a grill until lightly tender.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and gently mix.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:

Serve along with steak or any barbeque meal.

Niagara Peach and Icewine Cheesecake

Compliments of Pastry Chef Clyde Pereira from Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup (240ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
2, 8-ounce bricks (16 oz) full-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
2 Tbsp (30g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup Niagara peaches chopped
½ cup icewine 

Method:

Place Icewine in a saucepan on low heat and reduce to half the quantity.

Add the chopped peaches and let it sit for approximately 30 minutes.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and combined, about 1 minute. Make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese. If there are lumps, keep beating until smooth.

Using your mixer on low speed or a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined. This takes several turns of your rubber spatula. Combine slowly as you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.

Gently fold in the stewed peaches and any leftover icewine syrup.

You can either pipe or scoop the filling into ramekins, muffin pan molds lines with graham cracker or even a wine glass to make it extra fancy.

Mixture can stay in an airtight container for 2 -3 days. You could also freeze the mixture if desired.

Tips:

Icewine can be substituted for sherry or port wine depending on your taste. You can also completely omit out the Icewine as well for a kid friendly option. Make sure to keep on eye on the Icewine when reducing as it can burn easily.

“Peachy Keen” Cocktail

Compliments of Food & Beverage Manager Maribeth McKey from Inn On The Twenty Restaurant at Inn On The Twenty

Ingredients: 

½ of a peach, remove the skin and purée (or use a peach nectar from the store)
2 oz Dillon’s Dry Gin 7
½ oz Peach Schnapps 
Soda water

Method: 

Combine all ingredients into a shaker.

Pour into rocks glass over ice and then top with soda water.

Garnish with spring of thyme and a slice of peach.

Peach Crumble

Compliments of Executive Chef Marc Lyons from Tiara Restaurant at Queen’s Landing. 

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ½ cup pecans
2 tbsp  unsalted butter, room temperature
2 ¼ lb fresh Niagara peaches, cut into ½” wedges
1/3  cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt

Method:

Crumble Topping:

Whisk flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in butter with your fingers until clumps form.

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until slightly darkened in color, 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Smear bottom and sides of a 10″ cast-iron skillet with butter. Toss pecans, peaches, brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Transfer to skillet and crumble topping, breaking up into large pieces, over filling.

Bake crisp until topping is golden brown and juices are thick and bubbling around the edges, 25–35 minutes.

Tip:

Garnish with whipped sweet cream, can be made a few days in advance.

Peach Bellini

Compliments of Food & Beverage Manager Ferdinand Don Griot from Tiara Restaurant at Queen’s Landing. 

Ingredients:

1 oz peach syrup
1 oz Niagara Sparkling wine
½ oz icewine
Ice

Method:

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. You can use fresh peaches as well with a little bit of simple syrup. 

Peach Salsa

Compliments of Executive Chef Mark Longster from Cannery Restaurant at Pillar and Post

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:

1 peach, peeled and small dice
¼ medium sized red bell pepper, fine dice
¼ small red onion, fine dice
½ fluid ounce of lime juice
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 scallion (green onion), thinly sliced
Chives, chopped
Parsley, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. You may need to adjust the lime juice and salt and pepper after tasting it.

Tips:

This recipe holds well in the fridge and tastes better after a day or so. This is a great topping for fish, shrimp, chicken, pork and cheese dishes.