Peach salad is a delicious way to enjoy this sweet and soft fruit, enhanced by the contrast with the crunch of the lentil crumble. As I picked peaches from the tree in my garden yesterday, I thought about how I could turn them into a dish that could be used either as a dessert or a fresh breakfast, both perfect versions for hot summer days. Here’s how to do it!
The lentil crumble is a real surprise in terms of its goodness and, at the same time, it allows us to use a pulse flour and almonds in the preparation of a sweet, making it certainly more ‘friendly’ to blood sugar levels.
I invented it a year ago to participate in the Talent for foodcontest, where it had taken me to the finals. This is a slightly simplified version (I removed a few ingredients and changed the proportions) and since then I often use it to top spoon desserts or to mix with the seed mixes that I love to add to yoghurt for breakfast. So, while you are preparing it for peaches, you can double the amount to enjoy it as a snack or many other uses!
Peach fruit salad with lentil crumble
carbohydrates for the crumble 42.75g per 100g
carbohydrates for peaches 6.1g per 100g without sugar
Ingredients for the lentil crumble for 8 servings
- 55g lentil flour*
- 55g almonds with peel
- 3g brown rice flour*
- 30g whole coconut sugar
- 20g grapeseed oil or other oil to taste
- 1 egg white
- 1 pinch of salt
Ingredients for the peach salad for 8 servings
- 4 yellow peaches
- 125g lemon juice (the juice of 2 lemons)
- 2 star anise berries
- 1 cinnamon stick
- sweetener* or sugar to taste
- dark chocolate* (optional)
*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)
Preparation
- Combine the lentil flour, brown rice flour and coconut sugar in a bowl; add the seed oil, egg white and coarsely chopped almonds, then knead with your hands to a crumbly mixture.
- Drop the crumbs onto a baking tin covered with parchment paper and bake the crumble in a static oven preheated to 180°C for 10-15 minutes (the time will depend both on the size you gave the crumble and the power of your oven), until the crumble is crispy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Prepare the peaches. Put a pan of water on the stove and when it comes to the boil, throw in the ripe peaches and boil them for 3-4 minutes. To check that they are blanched just right, use the tip of a knife or a fork to see if the skin starts to peel away slightly from the flesh. Drain the peaches with a slotted spoon.
- Cut the peach skin with the tip of a knife, then the skin should come off very easily. Cut each peach into 4 segments, trying to keep the segments as intact as possible, and place them in a bowl.
- Pour the lemon juice over the peaches, add the whole star anise and cinnamon, sweeten to taste with sweetener or sugar, stir, and leave the peaches to gain flavour until the serving time.
- When it is time to serve the peaches, take two peach segments for each person and place them in a fruit salad bowl, add the crumble on top and, to taste, top with a sprinkling of dark chocolate cut with a knife and serve.
Version with gluten of Peach fruit salad with lentil crumble
The recipe is naturally gluten free, so no adaptations are needed.