How to Eat a Peach: Step-by-Step Guide for Perfect Peach Enjoyment | Fresh Fruit Eating Tips & Recipes | Ideal for Summer Snacks, Desserts, and Healthy Breakfasts

Diana Henry reminds us that she is an inimitable writer in How to Eat a Peach. Pairing seasonal menus with vivid memories in chapters with titles such as “Before the Passeggiata,” “Summer Begins with Apricot Tart,” and “The Moon and the Bonfire (and the Hazelnuts),” she evokes the people and places that inspired her to create these recipes.

The menus in this book are not created simply because the dishes complement each other—they tell stories about mending a broken heart in Mexico, missing the chaotic energy of New York City, or, in the incident which gives the book its title, feeling a thrill of inspiration and liberation while spying on diners at an Italian café, who macerated sliced fresh peaches in glasses of moscato.

Henry’s assured grasp of flavor gives her the insight to know when to leave a classic dish alone and when to add an adept splash of freshness by crossing familiar culinary boundaries. You’ll find here leg of lamb stuffed with lemon and many herbs; crabs served with potatoes and homemade mayonnaise; a salad of melon and goat cheese with red wine and lavender dressing; and a gooseberry and almond cake. It seems impossible not to fall under the spell of Henry’s food.

Hardcover with peach fuzz-textured case. Color photographs throughout.