Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [164]
Brush the apricots all over with the amaretto mixture. Grill the apricots, cut-side down, until nicely grilled-marked, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, brush the cut side generously with more amaretto mixture, and grill until the apricots are just tender, about 2 minutes more.
Top the apricots with the crushed almond praline before serving. Reserve any remaining praline for another use.
PLUMS
Grilled Plums Stuffed with Feta and Pistachios
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Although widely cultivated in California, pistachios are underappreciated in North America. So we turn to the Mediterranean region for this flavor profile. There, pistachios are widely used in both savory and sweet dishes. The rich, distinctive taste of pistachios marries perfectly with the juicy, sweet-tart flesh of fresh plums. A tinge of purple and green colors in both ingredients further unites them. A crumble of salty feta cheese provides contrast. If the plums in your market aren’t ripe, use a hybrid such as pluots or apriums. Or use apricots.
INGREDIENTS:
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
1½ tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons ground roasted pistachios
¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
8 ripe plums
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Finely grated zest of ½ lime
⅛ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium heat, about 325°F.
Combine the feta, 1 tablespoon of the honey, pistachios, and rosemary. Slice the plums down one side along their “seam” and lift out the pit. Stuff each plum with some of the feta mixture and gently press closed. Coat all over with cooking spray.
Combine the melted butter, remaining ½ tablespoon honey, lime zest, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the plums directly over the heat until nicely grill-marked and warm, about 2 minutes per side. Serve drizzled with the vanilla-lime butter.
PEACHES
Grilled Peaches Agrodolce
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Peaches love the grill. These take on a garnet hue from the agrodolce or “sour-sweet” syrup made with honey, red wine, and red wine vinegar. We serve them with a dollop of crème fraîche, but a good fresh sheep’s or cow’s milk ricotta would also be delicious. Or skip the dairy products and serve these as is with grilled chicken or pork.
INGREDIENTS:
1¼ cups dry red wine
⅔ cup red wine vinegar
⅔ cup honey
1 vanilla bean, split
3 whole cloves
4 just-ripe peaches, pitted and quartered lengthwise
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
¼ cup crème fraîche (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 400°F. If the bars of your grill grate are widely spaced, preheat a grill tray on the grill.
As the grill heats, combine the wine, vinegar, honey, vanilla bean, and cloves in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue boiling until reduced to a medium-thin syrup, 5 to 6 minutes. Keep hot.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil; oil the tray if using. Toss the peaches with the melted butter and salt to coat. Grill the peaches directly over the heat, perpendicular to the bars of the grill grate, until nicely grill-marked, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Immediately add the grilled peaches to the wine syrup and remove from the heat. Let cool until lukewarm or room temperature, about 30 minutes. Fish out the cloves and vanilla bean pod halves.
Serve the peaches warm or at room temperature, drizzled with some of the syrup and a dollop of the crème fraîche, if desired.
WATERMELON
Marinated Watermelon Steak with Pink Peppercorn Rub
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
What would happen if you cut a watermelon into manageable slabs, marinated the slabs in rum (just as you would marinate a beefsteak in wine), and then grilled them over a low and slow fire? As we discovered, the watermelon cells open, moisture evaporates, and the melon’s flavor and texture concentrate, becoming succulently compact yet tender and juicy. Kind of like a fillet steak. We were charmed. This recipe may be a bit of grill frippery,