Fire up the grill and embrace the magic of summer stone fruit with this vibrant peach salad. This recipe is proof that a simple salad can steal the show.
SERVES 4-6
As far as stone fruit, adjectives, and emojis go, peaches promise playfulness and satisfaction. Even the hardest, hapless peach is not irredeemable. Lacklustre peaches can be dialled up with time on the barbecue, their natural zip and sweetness caramelising to something entirely more sophisticated (plums and nectarines are also happy grillers). If your peaches are already super sweet, don’t even bother grilling – just slice into wedges and serve with the rest of the stuff. If you’ve snapped up green peppercorns for this, use the rest to make a sauce for roast veg or steak. Pink peppercorns fit the bill if you can’t find green – just halve the quantity and grind using a mortar and pestle. Buffalo mozza is a worthy stand-in for burrata.
Ingredients
For the green peppercorn vinaigrette
Final bits & bobs
Method
- Heat a barbecue grill plate or heavy-based griddle pan on medium heat. Have a piece of baking paper and foil handy (this’ll help keep the peaches intact, without leaving half the best burnished bits on the grill).
- Cut the peaches in half and remove the stone. Brush the cut peach halves with a little of the olive oil. Lay the baking paper on top of the foil, then lay it foil-side down onto the hot grill, placing the peaches cut-side down on top of the baking paper. Cook for 5–10 minutes until the peaches have burnished evenly, softening slightly, then turn over to just warm through.
- Meanwhile, to make the vinaigrette, put all of the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until emulsified. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the peaches cut-side up on a serving platter, leaving gaps for the burrata balls. Remove the garlic clove from the vinaigrette and pour the dressing over the peaches while they are still hot.
- Blob in the burrata, scatter with the mint leaves and finely sliced chives, and dress with salt and pepper and a final flourish of olive oil.
This recipe was originally published in the article Salads to Satisfy in Issue 49 – A River Runs Free.
