Serves 6
What is a Melba? The familiar foods named for Helen Porter Mitchell are not recognizable unless one knows that her stage name was Dame Nellie Melba. This famous opera singer of the late 19th and early 20th century, who took her last name from her native city of Melbourne, inspired others to honor her by naming “soaps and sauces, ribbons and ruffles” after her. The best known of these honors are Melba toast and Peach Melba.
Auguste Escoffier, the famous chef, is thought to have had a hand in both. Melba toast is said to be derived from the crisp toast that was part of Dame Melba's diet during the year 1897, a year in which she was very ill. The hotel proprietor César Ritz supposedly named it in a conversation with Escoffier. Pêche Melba was said to have been created by Escoffier for an 1892 party honoring the singer at the Savoy Hotel in London, although neither Escoffier nor Melba agreed with this version of events. Peach Melba is first recorded in English in 1905 (in the form Pêches à la Melba) and Melba toast in 1925. This is my take on the old classic.
4 crisp tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
18 fresh Black Mission figs, trimmed and sliced in half
2 cups brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sour cherry syrup
2 tablespoons of Pastis (anise flavored liquor)
pinch of salt
premium vanilla ice cream
whipped cream (optional)
Preparation: 1. In two non-reactive bowls toss the apple and fig slices separately with lemon juice and reserve. 2. In a large non-stick sauté pan melt the butter and brown sugar until just bubbling. 3. Add the apples and sauté for 15 minutes or until just al dente. 4. Add the figs, sour cherry syrup and the Pastis. Carefully flambé the Pastis until the alcohol has burned away.
Presentation: Put 6 scoops of vanilla ice cream in 6 parfait glasses. Add a large spoonful of the apple and fig mixture, another scoop of ice cream and top them off with a final spoonful of the apples and figs. Add whipped cream on top as you wish.
Richard L. Wottrich
