Peach Melba is my favourite summer dessert. It’s all about things on a plate that complement each other perfectly. The peaches really need to be ripe and ready to eat before you poach them, or else you’ll find that they will take too long to poach and become soft and bloated. A good way to tell whether your peach has been poached properly is to try to peel the skin. If the skin doesn’t pull off easily with your fingers, then the peach needs further cooking. If it peels off easily, it’s ready. I like to poach the peaches a couple of days in advance, then store them in the refrigerator to let all the flavours come together, or you can cook them in jars like the Bottled pears on page 166. The syrup is delicious, and you should serve this in equal measure with the raspberry coulis and lashings of vanilla ice cream. If you want to add crunch, serve it with slivered almonds, which complement the peach flavours nicely.