Recipe: Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

PEACH AND BLUEBERRY COBBLER

"This is an old-fashioned dessert that most people thoroughly enjoy eating. The baked fruit filling is crowned with a thin biscuit topping. It can be eaten warm or cold, plain or topped with vanilla ice cream."

FOR THE FILLING:
5 peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch nutmeg (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
FOR THE BISCUIT TOPPING:
5 tablespoons softened butter or Spectrum Spread
2 cups flour plus 1/4 cup flour for rolling out
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
FOR THE GLAZE:
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring all the filling ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, then turn down heat and simmer until the filling becomes thick. Spoon the thickened fruit filling into a medium (at least 10 x 8-inch) baking or casserole dish, and spread it around evenly until it meets all sides of the dish.

Using clean hands, pinch the butter and the flour together between your thumbs and forefingers until the flour and butter become crumbly. Mix in the sugar, baking powder, and salt and slowly stir in the milk to make a soft dough.

Sprinkle a work surface with the 1/4 cup flour, knead the dough lightly a few turns on the floured surface, and roll out to a perimeter approximately the size of your baking dish. With a cookie cutter or a glass cut out 10 biscuits and lay them slightly overlapping on top of the fruit filling, using scraps of leftover dough to fill in any uncovered spots. Sprinkle the top with the sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until biscuit topping turns golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. To serve, scoop out a biscuit and fruit filling and transfer to a dessert bowl or plate.

TIPS FROM ROSIE'S KITCHEN:
The topping on our cobbler tastes delicious baked on its own as scrumptious herb biscuits.

TO MAKE THE HERB BISCUITS:
Just replace the sugar with fresh herbs (I use 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, and a pinch of cayenne). Prepare the dough as you would for the cobbler, form 6 biscuits, lay them on a greased baking sheet, and bake in a preheated oven for 12 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Serves 8

Per serving: Calories 386.8, Fat 17.7 g, Saturated fat 10.9 g (40.6% of calories from fat), Protein 4.8 g, Carbohydrate 53.5 g, Cholesterol 46 mg, Fiber 2.9 g

Excerpted from The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil, M.D., and Rosie Daley
Copyright 2002 by Andrew Weil, M.D., and Rosie Daley. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.