“Rather than simply kissing, it’s good to focus on the taste of another person, what their lips feel like, how they are communicating through their lips. It is like eating a peach; you want to feel and notice every moment. As the kissing becomes more passionate, endorphins are released that increase arousal.”

Matt Rudd, The Sunday Times, May 2025

This is one of the chief taster’s favourite canapés. I think it’s the contrast on the tongue of the sweet and juicy peach and the salty, creamy cheese. The slightly astringent sage cuts through before the richness gets completely out of hand.

Why gorgonzola dolce rather than piccante? The difference between the two cheeses lies in the ripening time. In the case of Gorgonzola dolce, the ripening time is 50 days, while Gorgonzola piccante needs to ripen for 80 days. The ‘dolce’ is creamier, sweeter, and it has a less pronounced flavour. ‘Piccante’ is a bit ‘in your face’ – sometimes just what you want, but it’s a bit too strong for this use. In Sardinia I sometimes use a mix of stratas of Gorgonzola and mascarpone.

It can be a tad fiddly, so I would advise against scaling up this recipe.

These can be quite a challenge to eat (your friends should not be too precious), so I suggest serving with napkins and small saucers.

Why white peaches? Because they are slightly sweeter and less acidic than yellow peaches. Why flat ones (which are sometimes known as donut peaches)? Because they tend to be slightly smaller than the round ones, a perfect size for these bite-sized canapés.

In the northern hemisphere peaches are in season from June to early September.

If you wanted to you could develop this concept into a salad – to find out how, follow this link.

They go well with champagne, or any sparkling wine; and also with sherry – especially Tio Pepe fino en rama.

Flat white peach and gorgonzola dolce canapés

This makes 24 which is quite a lot. You can serve for four with drinks, explaining they are instead of a starter. Or it would be enough for six people.

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Serves – 4

Ingredients

• 200g/7 oz gorgonzola dolce (NB not the ‘piccante’ type. Take it out of the fridge an hour or so before making)
• 2 flat white peaches (keep in the fridge)
• 2 tsps runny honey, ideally chestnut which is bitterer than most
• A stem of sage leaves
• Freshly ground pepper, or a pinch of Urfa pepper flakes
• 24 cocktail sticks

Instructions

1. Cut the peaches into quarters and remove the stones.
2. Cut each quarter into three slices. Spread out on the chopping board.
3. Put a dollop of gorgonzola onto each slice.
4. Drizzle a little honey over each.
5. Snip over the sage, so that the snipped pieces fall on the honey and stick on. This is not as fiddly as it sounds!
6. Grind over the pepper.
7. Anchor each peach slice and its topping with a toothpick.
8. Serve… with small saucers and napkins as this can be a bit messy!

Variation

Note: I once couldn’t find gorgonzola dolce, so I used feta instead, and drizzled with pesto. It was good…but not as good.

This post is dedicated to Jacqui and Andy Cowen.