Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [166]
Replace the whole pineapple with a peeled, cored golden pineapple from the refrigerated produce section of your market. Cut into rings as directed.
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KNOW-HOW: PEELING AND CORING PINEAPPLE
Cut off the spiky top and ½ inch from the base of the pineapple. Stand it upright and cut repeatedly from top to bottom around the fruit to remove the peel and eyes. For rings, cut the pineapple crosswise into slices. Lay the slices on the cutting board and use the large side of a melon baller or a sharp paring knife to remove the tough core from each slice. For quarters or wedges, cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters. Stand each quarter upright and slice off the core. Cut crosswise into wedges.
BANANAS
Grilled Banana Satay
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Beef makes good satay, so why not banana? After all, it’s meaty and rich. Enrobed in sweet peanut sauce and shaggy shredded coconut, these banana medallions are delicious with grilled pound cake. They’d be even better with grill-toasted pandan cake (a light, fluffy Southeast Asian cake traditionally made from the juice of a pandan plant) and coconut whipped cream.
INGREDIENTS:
4 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
4 fat, barely ripe bananas, peeled
¼ cup peanut butter
½ cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
⅔ cup sweetened shredded coconut
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 400°F.
Slice the bananas crosswise into medallions 1 to 2 inches thick. Skewer the banana pieces through the edges so that the flat sides can be grilled, threading 6 to 8 pieces on each skewer.
Whisk together the peanut butter, coconut milk, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Pour half of the peanut sauce into a wide shallow dish.
Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the banana skewers directly over the heat until nicely grill-marked, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Dip the flat sides of the bananas in the peanut sauce. Sprinkle with the coconut to coat. Return to the grill and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Serve with the remaining sauce for dipping.
DRAGON FRUIT
Charred Red Dragon Fruit Pizza
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Dragon fruit (also called pitaya) comes in several shades and both sweet and sour versions. For this recipe, choose the most common red-skinned, white-fleshed dragon fruit. It’s one of the most striking fruits you’ll ever see, resembling a fuchsia-colored hand grenade with flame-like yellowed leaves. When cut, its white flesh, riddled with tiny black seeds, contrasts beautifully with the outer ring of red skin. Dragon fruit has a somewhat mild flavor–with hints of strawberry, kiwi, and watermelon–that’s delicious on a fruit pizza. To echo the colors, we mix strawberry puree into mascarpone cheese, creating a pink spread for the pizza, which is topped with chunks of the white fruit and grilled until crisp.
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces fresh or frozen strawberries (about 20 medium), thawed if frozen
8 ounces mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
1 recipe Pizza Dough, or 1 pound store-bought pizza dough
2 sweet red dragon fruit (pitaya)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for bilevel medium-high/medium heat, about 425/325°F.
Put the strawberries in a small food processor and puree. Add the mascarpone, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the cinnamon; process until well blended and set aside.
Cut four pieces of aluminum foil, each about 12 inches square. Coat one of the pieces with cooking spray. Divide the dough into four pieces and put a piece on the prepared foil. Cover the other pieces to keep them from drying out. Press and stretch the dough on the foil into a circle 8 to 10 inches in diameter and ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Don’t bother making a rim around the edge of the crust unless you like it for aesthetics. Coat the top of the dough round with cooking spray. Repeat with the remaining