The season’s best stone fruits

Turn summer’s bounty of sweet, succulent peaches, nectarines, apricots and cherries into delicious dishes and cool cocktails

Whole and halved stone fruits including cherries, apricots and nectarines

Summer made sweeter

Juicy, sweet and tangy stone fruits are at their best right now, and ours are grown by M&S Select Farmers who specially select the best varieties and pick them at their peak so they’re deliciously ripe.

Try our tempting white and golden nectarines, apricots and supersized king cherries. Eat as a healthy snack or incorporate into seasonal dishes – use raw in salads and pavlovas, or roast and served on toast with ricotta and pistachios.

For an extra-special tipple, blitz 2 pitted and sliced ripe peaches (or any other stone fruit) with 2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar. Push the mixture through a sieve to create a puree, then spoon into champagne flutes. Top with chilled prosecco for the freshest bellini you’ve ever tasted.

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Go for gold

Exclusive to M&S, our pretty-as-a-picture golden nectarines taste like a cross between a peach and a yellow nectarine. Smooth-skinned, with a sweet and fragrant flavour, enjoy one as a snack or – for a super-simple pud – pit, slice and combine with Greek yoghurt, crumbled meringue and lightly toasted almonds.

Look out for our sweet and juicy white nectarines and peaches in store, too.

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The perfect plum tart

For a flavour-packed pudding in a hurry, unwrap a sheet of puff pastry and sprinkle with ground almonds. Then arrange our plums on top, fanning them out to make a pretty pattern.

Sprinkle with caster sugar and flaked almonds, then finish with a little lemon zest. Bake at 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 4 until the pastry is puffed up and golden and the plums are soft and juicy. Finish with a final dusting of icing sugar, and enjoy warm with a drizzle of cream as a dessert, or at room temperature with a cuppa.

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Try it now: griddled peach and mozzarella salad

This easy recipe is pure summer on a plate. Pit, slice and griddle doughnut peaches or white nectarines until nicely charred, then combine with torn buffalo mozzarella, pieces of prosciutto and fresh mint leaves.

Finish with a dressing made from the juice of a charred lemon, a dash of red wine vinegar and a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy with one of our easy-drinking Provence rosé wines.

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Two plates of stone fruit salad with fresh peaches, mozzarella and prosciutto

Cheat’s fruity pavlova topped with stone fruits

Try it now: cheat’s fruity pavlova

Taking just minutes to prepare, this short-cut version of the summer fave looks stunning, so it’s the ideal centrepiece for summer parties and celebrations.

On a large, round plate, pile up M&S meringue nests, then top with whipped cream, pitted and sliced stone fruits such as nectarines, apricots and cherries, and more crumbled meringue. It’s perfect with a glass or two of prosecco.

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