Recipe: River Café’s Roasted Peach Bellini

We tried this Peach Bellini at one of our Cuisinette meals when we carried the first River Cafe Cookbook we could get our hands on at La Cuisine in 1998.  My copy is falling apart, it’s been used so much. Should you visit London, I think the restaurant is worth the splurge. Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray were two women who did not have to cook, but their love of Italian food formed a bond that drove this exceptional restaurant into existence. I remember seeing Rose in pink sneakers, grilling fish right in the restaurant dining room (Rose died in 2010 and you should read her remarkable obituary from The Guardian). And in the meantime check out the restaurant’s website and enjoy its down-to-earth recipe videos and remarkable story. Their version of this iconic Italian summer cocktail is our favorite. If your yellow peaches are ripe, the skins (which are left on in the process) give the drink a beautiful pink hue. The roasting brings a depth of flavor missing in other Bellini recipes. You can make the roasted peach purée ahead of time, but the bubbly goes in right before serving.  Goes well with any salted nut or olive nibble.