serveitforth.com recipes
Peach Caramel Sauce
1-2 very ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
1" piece of vanilla bean
1/2 t lemon juice
3/4 c sugar (or more -- see recipe instructions)
1-2 T heavy cream or crème fraîche
minuscule pinch of salt
1. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the peaches along with the lemon juice. Puree the peaches in a blender or with a hand blender until very smooth, and then pour it into a measuring cup -- if you want a very sweet sauce with lots of caramel flavor, use the same volume of sugar. If you want the sauce to taste mostly of fruit, use half the volume.
2. Put the sugar into a heavy, perfectly clean sauce pan. Add about 1/4 c of water, just enough to moisten all of the sugar. Put the scraped vanilla bean pods in the pan, too. Cook the sugar on medium heat without stirring. When it starts to turn golden, carefully swirl the pan to encourage even caramelization. When it is evenly golden in color (don't let it get too dark), remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the peach puree and the optional cream. The mixture will bubble rapidly, and it will be very, very hot. Be careful.
The sauce can be served warm or cold.