Cardamom-Scented Roasted Peaches

The first crop of sweet and tender Georgia peaches are hitting the fruit stands now. I buy them by the armful, and their heady scent perfumes the whole kitchen for days. But when they ripen faster than you can eat them, I roast the excess fruit in the oven, and serve as a simple and elegant summer dessert.

The prep-work is hassle-free—top the peach halves with sugar, brown sugar, and butter, which caramelise with the fruit juices into a sticky sauce, and sprinkle with cardamom to enhance the luscious flowery notes of the ripe fruit. Serve straight out of the oven with a dollop of crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream—summer in a mouthful!

Ingredients
2 Peaches, cut in half lengthwise, with the pits removed.
¼ tsp ground Cardamom
Pinch of freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tbsp Butter, cut into four pieces
½ tsp Sugar
1 tsp Brown Sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 425º F (220ºC). 
2. Arrange peaches in a parchment paper-lined baking dish with the cut-side up, and sprinkle with cardamom and black pepper. Place butter in the indents in the middle of the fruit, and sprinkle sugar and brown sugar. 
3. Roast in the oven for 20 mins until the tops are golden and well caramelised. Serve warm topped with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, and garnished with mint. 

TIP: This recipe works just as well with any other stone fruit like apricot, nectarine or plum.