We recently teamed up with our friends at Los Angeles Magazine to present a virtual Happy Hour dinner party with Mountain Valley Culinary Ambassador Chef Michael Reed of Poppy + Rose at his home in Los Angeles. Chef Reed shared a few of his favorite recipes highlighting one of our favorite ingredients: PEACHES!
Watch the full Happy Hour HERE and get a peek at the recipes featuring Mountain Valley White Peach Sparkling Water below.
Peach Mint Mezcal Spritzer
Ingredients:
- 3 oz Mountain Valley White Peach Sparkling Water
- 2.5 oz mezcal
- 1 each peach (thinly sliced)
- 2 oz Poppy + Rose house-made peach jam
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 3 ashes aromatic bitter
- Fresh mint leaves
Directions:
- Muddle mint leaves, peach, peach jam, lime juice with mezcal in a cocktail shaker.
- Shake with ice and strain into a glass with ice, top with Mountain Valley Spring White Peach Sparkling Water.
- Garnish with fresh mint and peach.
Peach Glazed Grilled Heritage Berkshire Pork Chop + Shelling Bean with Bitter Greens Salad, Summer Peaches, Fennel, Red Onion, Humboldt Fog
Brine
Ingredients:
- 4 pork chops
- 4 cups Mountain Valley White Peach Sparkling Water
- 1/4 cup salt (I use kosher salt - dissolves easily)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
- 3 rosemary sprigs
Directions:
- Combine brine ingredients in a container large enough to let pork chops submerge in brine
- solution completely. Swirl around to let salt dissolve. Submerge the pork chops. Cover and let
- them sit in fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- *Note: Remove the pork chops. Discard the brine. Rinse and pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel (very important!)
- Suggested cooking: Grill the pork chops to the temperature of your liking. If you don’t have a grill, broiling or pan searing is an option.
Peach Glaze
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh peaches (sliced + peeled)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup Mountain Valley Spring White Peach Sparkling Water
- 1/2 cup peach jam
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
- Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add peaches and brown sugar cook
- over high heat, letting the butter brown and toast the peaches. Deglaze with Mountain Valley
- Spring White Peach Sparkling Water. Add peach jam and lemon juice.
- Let cook down till peach are tender. Remove from pan and blend on high speed.
Shelling Beans
Ingredients:
- 3 quarts of very lightly salted water
- 1 pound mixed shelling beans of butter beans, cannellini beans, cranberry beans, shucked (can
- used dry bean or can beans)
- Optional: a bay leaf, or a few branches of thyme
- 2 each lemon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 oz lemon vinaigrette
- 1/2 red onion (small diced)
- 1/8 cup oregano (chopped)
- 1/8 cup chives
- 1/8 cup parsley
Directions:
- In a large covered saucepan, add beans and bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low simmer add the beans and any of the optional herbs.
- Boil and cook for 20-35 minutes with the lid ajar, until the beans are tender. Be careful not to overcook them, and note that you may need to add more water while they’re cooking.
- Drain the beans and let cool to room temp, then toss while warm with vinaigrette, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, herbs, salt and pepper.
- Note: Use your favorite vinaigrette (about 1/4 cup, 60 ml) and perhaps include a chopped shallot to mix with the warm beans. A handful of fresh herbs is delightful but wait until the beans are cool to add them so they don’t lose their oomph.
- Enjoy them often tossed with good summer tomatoes and lots of fresh basil, or basil vinaigrette.
Bitter Greens Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 each radicchio (leaves separated, and coarsely chopped)
- 2 each Belgian endive (leaves separated + coarsely chopped if large)
- 1 bunch mustard green (trimmed + torn into bite-size pieces)
- 2 each frisée (trimmed + torn into bite-size pieces)
- 1 box wild baby arugula
- 2 each yellow peach (thinly sliced)
- 1 each fennel (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 each medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup fresh mint (torn if large)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (torn if large)
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (picked)
- 3 oz Humboldt Fog cheese
- 3 oz lemon vinaigrette
Directions:
- Toss together greens, fennel, and red onion. Drizzle with vinaigrette, season with salt and black pepper.
- Add peach, herbs, and cheese.
- Toss and serve
