A peach lovers heaven.
Peaches are the ultimate summer fruit. They’re sweet, juicy, and fresh and make the most delicious desserts. If you love peaches, then you will love this summer dessert recipe! We’ve turned the traditional savoury Italian dish: panzanella, into a sweet peach dessert panzanella. Panzanella is a dish typically made using tomatoes, bread and onion. We’ve taken the essence of this recipe, and given it a twist, by creating a sweet dessert Panzanella using grilled peaches.
The tomatoes have been swapped for peaches, and we’ve replaced the other traditional ingredients with lots of delicious sweet flavours, which take this dish from a savoury side to a sweet dessert. The ciabatta is cooked in lots of maple syrup and dusted with icing sugar once it’s come out of the oven. You’re then left with lovely, sweet, crispy ciabatta chunks.
This sweet peach summer dessert panzanella will be such a crowd-pleaser.
Not only does this dessert look beautiful once it’s all plated up, but it tastes soooo good too. It’s got some unusual flavours in there, but we think they all work in perfect harmony. We can guarantee no one else will be bringing a dessert like this to the same party! It’s the rosemary-infused dressing that takes this dessert to the next level. We’ve combined a quick homemade rosemary simple syrup with black treacle (also known as molasses) and some maple syrup. It’s such a unique flavour, but it works so well with the peach, blueberries and crunchy sweet croutons. We know any guests will love this dessert!
Perfect for your next alfresco dinner party.
This summer dessert is the ideal dish for a dinner party. It’s not hard to make, but it does require a bit of time in the kitchen and a few steps to make it. You can make it all up in advance, and it would travel well in a container. We would recommend not adding the dressing until just before serving though, otherwise, the ciabatta chunks will go soggy, and no one wants that! This is a lovely dish to enjoy with a glass of sweet sherry or dessert wine.
This summer dessert pairs wonderfully with Italian flavours.
When thinking about what other dishes to serve before this dessert, we took inspiration from the origins of panzanella: Italy! We think this would be the perfect pud to serve at a dinner party after some delicious pasta, like our spaghetti aglio e olio and our puttanesca-inspired salad for a starter.
Here’s our dream alfresco summer dinner party menu idea:
- Starter: Puttanesca-inspired salad
- Main: Spaghetti aglio e olio with cashew parmesan
- Side: Simple lemony roasted asparagus
- Dessert: Sweet peach panzanella
This sweet peach panzanella summer dessert recipe is:
- vegan and dairy-free
- fresh, light and fruity
- perfect for late-night summer dinner parties
- soft, sweet and crunchy
If you enjoyed this recipe, try one of our other delicious recipes:
Sweet Grilled Peach Panzanella Summer Dessert
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 60 ml water
- 65 g sugar
- 1 few sprigs of rosemary
- 2 tbsp black treacle
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
For the sweet ciabatta croutons
- 135 g ciabatta loaf cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- big pinch of salt
- icing sugar for dusting
For the grilled peaches
- 2 peaches sliced into wedges
- knob of dairy-free butter for the pan
- drizzle of maple syrup
For the rest of the dessert
- 75 g blueberries
- a few sprigs of oregano leaves only
- icing sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Start by making the simple syrup. Add the sugar, water and rosemary to a small pan and bring to a boil on the hob. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Once boiling, bring it down to a simmer for a few minutes. Then remove from the heat and leave to one side to let the rosemary infuse into the syrup.
- Add the ciabatta chunks to a mixing bowl with the maple syrup, olive oil and salt, then toss to cover. Tip onto a baking tray, then cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Whilst the sweet croutons are baking, grill your peaches. If you don’t have access to a BBQ, you can use a griddle pan to cook the peaches. Heat your pan on the stove, add a knob of dairy-free butter, then lay your peach segments out flesh side down. Cook for a few minutes, then drizzle some maple syrup over. Flip the peach segments and cook for a few more minutes until you see lines from the griddle pan across the peaches. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.
- Grab the rosemary simple syrup, and strain it into a glass, leaving behind the rosemary sprigs. Add in the black treacle and maple syrup, then stir to combine.
- Add half the sweet ciabatta chunks to a platter with half the peach slices, half of the blueberries, some oregano leaves and a drizzle of the sweet rosemary treacle dressing. Repeat this, then top with a final dusting of icing sugar.