A Summer Skillet Dinner of Peaches, Zucchini, and Chicken

As soon as I spot peaches ripening on the little tree in a corner of our yard, I count them. If there are enough to eat straight off the tree and extras, then I’ll plan for pie, shortcake, and a favored summer main dish.

This year a hungry squirrel got to sampling half the peaches, taking a bite or two and dropping them to the ground before we noticed. Hugo helped me drape the tree in netting, dotted with pinwheels for good measure, to keep the squirrels and birds away. So, I’ll buy peaches for the desserts and for a dish I’ve never seen on any restaurant menu or as a guest at anyone’s house. It involves wine and sour cream in addition to peaches, zucchini, and chicken. It’s the first dish I ever cooked for Hugo, and he loved it even though it has no tomatoes.

The creator of this wonder was James Haller, the chef at The Blue Strawbery in Portsmouth, N.H. (Strawbery Banke was the name of the first European settlement in Portsmouth, hence the spelling.)

When he opened the restaurant in an old ship’s chandlery in 1970 it became immediately famous for being original and iconoclastic: there was no set menu because Haller, known as Buddy, offered what the market inspired him to cook each evening.

Like most people who were lucky enough to dine there amid lots of candlelight at one of just a few tables set with exquisitely mismatched china, I never forgot Haller’s raspberry-Grand Marnier sauce for pork, or basil butter with dark bread, or parsnips baked in curry, orange, and honey.

Later, I came across his first book, The Blue Strawbery Cookbook: Cooking (Brilliantly) Without Recipes (1976), and learned that my initial image of Haller, brandishing a bottle of wine or brandy in one hand and the requisite amount of butter in the other, was correct — though there was much more to his intuitive technique than that. He celebrated whole, fresh foods and encouraged cooks to innovate in the kitchen. Both were novel ideas at the time.

I enjoyed reading about pheasant stuffed with artichokes in champagne and all the rest but landed on his peaches, zucchini, and chicken dish. Hugo started asking for it this year as we were draping the peach tree. So, I got out the book and leafed through pages, wondering what had become of Haller after the restaurant closed, following a long successful run.

I sent a letter to an address I discovered online and found Buddy Haller living in Maine, very much alive and well at 88. After thanking him for an unforgettable dinner at the restaurant many years ago, I also thanked him for the dish that’s still our summer favorite. He was modest and seemed surprised that anyone remembered, but he had a question: “Are you still cooking that?”

“Yes, of course, every summer,” I responded.

“Really? You need to move on,” was his reply.

I assured him that I have moved on, not wanting to give the impression that his lessons on finding inspiration in the moment had been entirely lost on me. I did manage to assert that very memorable dishes are well worth keeping in one’s repertoire.

Haller himself has certainly moved on. Lecturing, teaching, working with critically ill patients, and writing, he is now at work on a profile of the town where he resides. While Buddy admits to having less inspiration than he did in the past, life at 88 is good. “It’s really wonderful to enjoy the days, my freedom — I appreciate everything more now.”

The two questions I had planned to ask him turned into a half-hour-long conversation, and I wrapped up by asking about the signature Blue Strawbery dessert: fresh berries to be dipped at the table in sour cream and brown sugar. He said he didn’t invent it but had heard about it and tried it. “I thought, that’s kind of wonderful,” he said, “and it became the hallmark because at the time I didn’t know how to make a dessert.”

Here is how I prepare his peaches, zucchini, and chicken. It’s easily scaled down for one, and you can cook everything together in one pan; or scale it up with two frying pans, sautéing the chicken in one and the accompaniments in the other. Feel free with variations: you might choose apricots instead of peaches; yellow squash, asparagus, or artichoke hearts in place of the zucchini; and mushrooms, fish, or pork instead of chicken. Fennel, dill, chive, and oregano are all possibilities for the dried herbs, with fresh ones to garnish. Right, Buddy?

PAN-FRIED PEACHES, ZUCCHINI, AND CHICKEN
Makes 4 servings

2 zucchini
4 peaches
2 chicken breast halves, skinless and boneless (about 1½ lbs.)
3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pinches of thyme and basil, or whatever dried herbs you like
Pinches of cinnamon and sugar
½ cup white wine
¾ cup sour cream

1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into eighths and then in half crosswise to make strips about 3 inches long. Halve the peaches, peel, and pit them. Set both aside. Slice the chicken into filets by first cutting each chicken breast in half crosswise. Then with the knife parallel to the cutting board, slice each piece in half horizontally to form 2 thin filets, repeating with the other pieces until you have 8 filets. Flatten them to ¼-inch thickness with a mallet or the back of a heavy pan and set aside.
2. Pour a tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan and heat until it shimmers. Add the zucchini and season with salt, pepper, and basil. Add the peaches and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat, then turn everything, seasoning again. Remove peaches and zucchini to a preheated platter set in a warm oven (about 200 degrees).
3. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan to sauté the chicken. Season the filets with salt, pepper, and pinches of thyme and cook about 2 minutes on each side until they are light golden brown. Season again after turning them. Add more oil if needed. Check for doneness and remove the filets to the platter.
4. Turn the heat to medium, pour the wine into the pan, and stir, scraping up the flavorful fond. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol. Stir in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Stir the sauce again and heat just until it is hot — do not simmer this sauce or it will separate. If it seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of water to thin it.
5. Drizzle the sauce around the peaches, zucchini, and chicken, garnish with fresh herbs if you like, and it’s ready to serve.