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Green Peach Salad

By Kelly Song

Published on April 30, 2024

Time

30 Minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Green Peach Salad

Ingredients

2 pounds unripe peaches 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice½ teaspoon table salt 1 habanero chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced2 tablespoons shredded fresh mint

Before You Begin

For the best results, the peaches should be underripe and very firm. We prefer the floral flavor of white peaches in this recipe, but yellow peaches will also work. We do not recommend using nectarines or ripe peaches.

Instructions

  1. Working with 1 peach at a time, slice vertically (through stem end and base) around pit. Repeat slicing, vertically around pit, 3 more times at evenly spaced intervals to form 8 equal wedges. Gently pry wedges from pit, then slice each wedge in half lengthwise into ¼- to ½-inch-wide wedges (you should have 16 wedges from each peach).
  2. Whisk oil, honey, lime zest and juice, and salt together in large bowl. Add peaches and habanero and toss to coat. Let mixture sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
  3. Transfer peaches, including any accumulated juices, to large serving platter. Sprinkle with mint and serve.
Green Peach Salad
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Joy Howard.

Green Peach Salad

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Time

30 Minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 pounds unripe peaches
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
½ teaspoon table salt
1 habanero chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons shredded fresh mint

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 pounds unripe peaches
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
½ teaspoon table salt
1 habanero chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons shredded fresh mint

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 pounds unripe peaches
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
½ teaspoon table salt
1 habanero chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 tablespoons shredded fresh mint

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Our green peach salad is inspired by the version served at Crook's Corner in North Carolina, along with the flavors of chile-lime-dressed fruits from Mexico and Southeast Asia. Since unripe peaches cling tightly to their pits, we preferred cutting the fruit into wedges on the pit and then pulling the wedges away from the pit like the segments of an orange. We lightly dressed the wedges (with their skin intact for maximum flavor and structure) in a punchy mixture of lime juice, honey, salt, and olive oil. And we incorporated minced fresh habanero, with its seeds removed to tame the heat, to bring out the peaches' subtle floral aromas. After marinating them for 10 minutes to allow all the flavors to meld, we topped the peaches with shreds of fresh mint. The result is a crunchy, refreshing salad that celebrates the long-overlooked unripe peach.

Before You Begin

For the best results, the peaches should be underripe and very firm. We prefer the floral flavor of white peaches in this recipe, but yellow peaches will also work. We do not recommend using nectarines or ripe peaches.

Instructions

  1. Working with 1 peach at a time, slice vertically (through stem end and base) around pit. Repeat slicing, vertically around pit, 3 more times at evenly spaced intervals to form 8 equal wedges. Gently pry wedges from pit, then slice each wedge in half lengthwise into ¼- to ½-inch-wide wedges (you should have 16 wedges from each peach).
  2. Whisk oil, honey, lime zest and juice, and salt together in large bowl. Add peaches and habanero and toss to coat. Let mixture sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
  3. Transfer peaches, including any accumulated juices, to large serving platter. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

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