grilled peach salad (summer simplicity)
Juicy peaches are one of the sweetest reasons to savor the last month of summer. Really, all sweet stonefruit provide decadent avenues to enjoy the solid month and a day that we have before this year's autumnal equinox... rather than wish it away in the haze of artificial-pumpkin-scented candles. So, beginning with today's full solar eclipse, may this recipe provide an invitation to be fully present in, and appreciative of, the remainder of this golden, most beautiful season.
If you didn't read my last post, I recently took a really delicious trip to Colorado. One of my favorite things about traveling is becoming inspired by the creative dishes that I encounter in new places. This recipe is a direct reflection of such inspiration, specifically the baby kale salad at Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat Springs, which features wood-fired peaches and onions atop delicate, bitter baby kale leaves. This dish incorporates these key elements albeit with stovetop grilling as the primary technique for the peaches and onion (as I unfortunately do not have a wood-fired oven at my home), eschews radish, adds avocado for nutrient- and fatty-flavor-richness, and utilizes a simple dressing with powerful antioxidant and possible anti-inflammatory turmeric. Thank you so much, Mountain Tap, for inspiring me to shake up my salad game!
Peaches are a great fruit choice for someone looking to heal acne through positive food choices as they have a low glycemic load. However, cooking fruit can elevate the glycemic load as such processing speeds the rate at which the body will convert the fruit into glucose. The grilling here only lightly "cooks" the exposed, fleshy side of the peach, but in the interest of deliciously covering all bases, the dressing utilizes apple cider vinegar as one study has indicated that it may help stabilize blood sugar.
With so many textures, flavors, and nutrients in one bowl... this dish is proof that some of us DO win friends with salad.
RECIPE: Grilled Peach Salad
(serves two as a meal, four as a side)
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 halved peaches, pits removed
- 1/2 large, coarsely chopped red onion
- 8 loosely packed cups baby kale
- 1 chopped avocado
- 1/4 cup roasted, salted pepitas
- 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons avocado or olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
METHOD:
- Brush your grilling surface (I use a stovetop grill pan) with the two teaspoons of oil. Heat over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles upon contact.
- Add the onions to one side of the grill, and grill for about two minutes before adding the peaches.
- Add the peaches to the other side, and grill alongside the onions for about three minutes per peach half (I did two rounds of two peach halves). Stir the onions every 2-3 minutes. Once the peaches and onions are tender with a slight char (this took about eight minutes for the onions), remove from the grill pan and set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cool, roughly chop the peaches.
- To make the dressing, vigorously whisk OR shake (in a lidded jar) the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, black pepper, and salt.
- Toss all ingredients with the turmeric dressing until well combined.
Serve with love.
☼ VLGL
