“Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free”. My apologies for putting that song in your head, but I end up humming it every time I make this wonderful sangria. And while the comical stylings of the band The Presidents of the United States of America (I’m really showing my early 90’s musical roots here) may not be your thing, this drink will be. If only peaches were free…if only.
It’s hard to not like sangria, to be honest. What’s not to love? Delicious wine spiked with fruit or fruit juices, sometimes sugar, sometimes bubbles. Yes, please. Making sangria can be a bit like painting on a canvas. There are so many colors and choices for your creation. I enjoy both white and red sangria, but in either style fresh herbs are the key for me. They give it a little more complexity that so many other versions seem to lack.
I’ve also recently been experimenting with fresh juices in my sangria. We have a Breville Juice Fountain Plus and I like to put it to good use. You may think you’ll waste a lot of the fruit by juicing it, but the truth is, you don’t. I had almost no pulp when I juiced two peaches for this recipe– the only thing that was discarded was the peel. If you’ve been thinking of purchasing a juicer, summer is the perfect time to do it! There are so many wonderful fruits and vegetables to experiment with. Of course, if you don’t have a juicer, you can simply peel the peach and purée in a blender– that method will work just fine. I wanted to create an herby, mostly naturally-sweetened sangria. Some recipes require a lot of sugar, but I’d rather avoid that if possible. The addition of chamomile is subtle, but lovely. And the fresh thyme works magically with the peaches– they’re a wonderful pairing.
Using fresh juices in addition to chunks of whole fruits helps the flavors meld a bit quicker than just using whole fruit exclusively. It is something you should definitely try before the summer is over! Enjoy the sangria and for goodness sakes, share some with your *neighbors!
*Speaking of neighbors– shout out to my neighbor Allison and her lovely mother, Shirley for gifting me the gorgeous antique platter in the photos– thank you!
The Recipe: Happy Hour: Peach Sangria with Chamomile and Thyme
(serves 4)
1 bottle of sparkling white wine, cava, prosecco, or regular white wine
3/4 cup fresh peach juice/purée (from 2 peaches)
1-2 bags of chamomile tea (steeped in 1/2 cup hot water, then cooled)
handful of fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 tablespoon superfine sugar (more or less to taste)
fresh raspberries and peach slices
ice
Begin by steeping the chamomile tea in hot water. Refrigerate to cool completely. Juice the peaches by either using a juicer or peel the peaches and purée in a blender.
In a large glass pitcher, add the sparkling white wine, peach juice, chamomile tea, fresh thyme sprigs, and 1/2 tablespoon superfine sugar. Stir together well and even bruise the thyme with a wooden spoon to release the flavors more. If time allows, let the flavors meld for 20 minutes or so in the refrigerator. Then add the ice, fresh raspberries, and peach slices. Serve in a glass over ice. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by Relishing It!
Laurie
Relishing It 