Simple supper for peach season

Fresh native peaches? If it were up to me, I’d just eat them out of hand and consider it dinner. But sometimes you have to act like a responsible adult and actually cook something.

Exactly a year ago I got myself in a tizzy.

We start the new school year at the farm with a potluck luncheon meeting the first Friday of every September. Last year I didn’t remember till late that morning that I hadn’t even thought about what to make for my potluck offering.

Oops.

A quick check of the fridge revealed half a Vidalia onion, a packet of chicken-apple sausages, and a couple of ripe native peaches.

Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been a packet of ham, half a jar of marshmallow fluff, and some ripe native eggplants.

I’m no Julia Child, but even I could see that this had some possibilities.

I decided to chop the onion and caramelize it in some butter. I had only half a sweet Vidalia onion, but more would have been better.

I chopped my onion in bigger pieces but skinny pieces would be fine too. Here they’ve just gone into the pan and still look raw.

While the onions are cooking, I turned my attention to the chicken-apple sausage. The sausage was already cooked, so I cut it into rounds and set it aside.

A vintage “Handy Andy” knife with a serrated blade works great for cutting the sausage casing neatly. Its Bakelite handle is a odd color—olive green.

If your sausages aren’t precooked, you’ll want to add them, whole, to the pan when the onions are about half done. Cover the pan and cook them through. When they’re done, slice them up.

Meanwhile, the onions got a little darker.

Deeper colored, but not there yet!

I sliced up the peaches. Don’t make the slices too skinny. You don’t want them to break apart easily while they’re cooking.

Ripe or just-barely-ripe peaches are best. Underripe fruit won’t taste so great, and overripe fruit will turn to mush.

When the onions are looking deep dark brown and yummy, like this:

then it’s time to toss in some of the sausage and some of the peaches, and crank the heat. Don’t crowd the pan!

Look, ma, no crowding!

Every piece should touch the pan; you want to sear the meat and the fruit a bit. If the pan is crowded then you’ll steam everything instead. You might have to do this step in two batches.

Season to taste, and tip it all into a serving dish.

Here’s a classy way to take your casserole to a potluck: a heavy-gauge Everlast covered aluminum dish with a clear Pyrex casserole insert. How awesome is that?

And there you have it: Chicken-Apple Sausage with Seared Peaches and Caramelized Onions. Fast, simple, and very yummy. Serve it up on its own,  hot or cold, or mix it up with spinach greens for a great salad.

Mmmmmm!