I encountered peach melba for the first time in an Italian eatery in downtown Tripoli. My family had been transferred to the Libyan city back in the 60’s, where my sisters and I were routinely introduced to new foods like shahi, a very sweet, thick tea, and couscous, an extraordinary dish our Arab neighbor would send over, piled high with fish, meat, chickpeas and other spicy stuff.

As a girl of eleven would be, I was intrigued by the unusual name, Melba, and who doesn’t love peaches and cream? It became my go-to dessert whenever we dined out! Here’s an easy recipe for the original version, a fruity, frosty dish created in the kitchen of chef Auguste Escoffier. As the first chef to codify the art of French cuisine, he remains today the foremost theoretician of modern cookery.

A refreshing—and unexpected—way for showcasing the blushing summer beauties in your Twenty Bag!