Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Grilled Peach Sundaes with Balsamic Fudge

Despite the fact that everything is supposed to be bigger in Texas, Texas-grown peaches are kind of small. I would argue, however, that their flavor is very big. Not many other fruits compare to a perfectly ripe peach. I mentioned the other day that I’d been reading Farmers' Market Desserts, and most of the recipes in that book include suggestions for alternate fruits. There’s a dessert called grilled fig sundaes with balsamic fudge, and I took note of the suggestion to use peaches or plums instead when in season as I had just received some peaches from my CSA. Whichever type of fruit is used, each piece is cut in half and skewered onto a rosemary sprig and grilled. The fruit skewers only remain on the grill long enough to soften and brown in spots and take on some smokiness. And, the fruit is only one part of this dessert. There’s also ice cream which is a natural with warm fruit, and then there’s the sauce. This is no old-fashioned, ice cream parlor kind of sauce. It’s a tangy, sweet reduction of red wine, balsamic vinegar, and sugar, and it makes this a sundae with grown-up flavor.

I’m sure both figs and plums would work very well for grilling. The peaches I used were nicely ripe which means they were a little tender and had to be pierced and skewered carefully. The pieces of fruit didn’t stay in place very well on the rosemary sprigs. They tended to flip around the stem and would have been difficult to turn on the grill. To fix that issue, I also pushed a wooden skewer through the fruit behind each rosemary sprig. With two skewers in place, the fruit stayed put and was easy to turn. To start, you should soak your skewers in water so they won’t burn on the grill even though any rosemary leaves left on the ends will catch the flame regardless. Meanwhile, you can begin the sauce. Good balsamic vinegar, red wine, and sugar, and the amount of sugar depends on whether you’re using a dry wine or a sweet, dessert wine, were stirred together in a saucepan. Over a bare simmer, that mixture was left to reduce by half which took about 15 minutes. It thickened as it cooled. Then, the fruit was brushed with olive oil, seasoned, and grilled for a few minutes per side, and the timing will depend on how hot your grill is. The goal is to just allow the fruit to soften and begin to brown. I served the grilled fruit and sauce with vanilla gelato, and I always follow the recipe from Demolition Desserts. It includes only two eggs and is made with more milk than cream making it slightly lighter than other vanilla ice cream recipes I sometimes use.

Savory flavors from the grill smoke and rosemary challenged the sweetness of the peaches and gelato in a delicious way. Likewise, the sauce was a mix of sweet and tart, rather than just sweet, which nudged the taste of the gelato in the direction of cheesecake. Plain, ripe, summer peaches are a pleasure, but if you’d like to dress up a few of them for dessert, I highly recommend this sundae.



34 comments:

  1. sounds fantastic! I love grilled fruit!

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  2. Rosemary and balsamic vinegar with peaches, well that is original! A great sundae. Summery and refined.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. Great job photographing the grill, Lisa!

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  4. Those skewered peaches look stunning! I love the flavours you've used.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. I recently made Panna Cotta with strawberry balsamic glaze... it was so good, I am now addicted to the fruit/balsamic combo. These sound great!

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  6. Lisa..beautiful, grilled peaches. Love that you used rosemary sprigs as skewers for extra flavor and the photos are mouth-watering. The balsamic vinegar reduced and used as a sundae sauce - decadent!

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  7. Goodness gracious Lisa. You have taken our little yet powerful peaches and turned them into stars. I think this should be the official dessert of a Texas summer! And the rosemary even makes it 'Austin-y'... Love it!

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  8. When's the next plane out, I'm commin' to Texas!!! Those peaches are simply gorgeous, Lisa. I can't think of a better herb to use than rosemary and the balsamic vinegar, an engagement with marriage in the bag! Good goodness me...

    I'm not sure it would have turned out so well with another fruit. I'd be willing to try though, for sure!!!

    Thank you so much for sharing...A DQ sundae just isn't going to do it after seeing this:)

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  9. Oh my what a delicious dessert. That looks so good.

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  10. I really like grilled peaches I love the smell there is something on it that I can't explain,the smell alone is enough to make your mouth water

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  11. Great shot of the grill! And good idea on doubling up the skewers- the idea of using just rosemary branches alone sounds great in theory but I could see how it would get tricky in practice. Also, hooray for ice cream season! Not that you have to wait until summer for ice cream but it does seem like a special treat when it's a million degrees outside ;-)

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  12. I don't have an outdoor grill, but I have a panini maker: as soon as I make my own ice cream, I'm "grilling" peaches.

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  13. This looks SO delicious.

    In Trieste, Italy (where my mom is from) we slice peaches and top with white wine and sugar and then serve them with vanilla ice cream. Similar but not as fancy as this!

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  14. Hi Lisa, actually Texas peaches are better and sweeter because they are grown that way, instead of for shelf life or to be shipped half way across the country! Some years they are larger than others, usually depending on variety and rainfall. When there is less rain they are smaller but the flip side is that they are sweeter and have a more intense flavor!
    Thanks for the recipe, Peaches are my all time favorite in just about any form!

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  15. Oh what a superb idea to use the rosemary sprig! The aroma in entity (rosemary + peaches) must be amazing.

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  16. Lisa, thanks so much for sharing your experience with this recipe. And especially the tip about the second skewer with the peaches -- not so much an issue with the figs but definitely a larger fruit will want to spin on the grill with a single skewer and two reduces the frustration! Happy summer fruit, everyone.

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  17. Peaches are my fave summer fruit and I do love grilling them. Love the trick with the rosemary branches poking through them. Am going to have to try that with my backyard rosemary bush.

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  18. What a perfect summer treat! You certainly put these peaches to good use.

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  19. The fudge sounds perfect with the peaches. Need to try grilling peaches this summer

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  20. I really need to explore balsamic more, my brother who used to travel to Italy a lot was telling me what a great food it was; well, with these juicy Texas peaches and the ice-cream it makes for a refined and healthy dessert!

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  21. Those grilled peaches scream summer. I have never had chocolate balsamic sauce. I am intrigued. I like balsamic and I like chocolate.

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  22. Allison: There's not actually any chocolate in the sauce. It's a reduction of balsamic vinegar and red wine.

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  23. I don't use my grill nearly enough and I certainly have not experimented with grilling fruit. This is a great dessert after a heavy dinner!

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  24. Those grilled Texas peaches look to die for! With rosemary, balsamic reduction...just marvelous!

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  25. Isn't it funny that I was just thinking of grilled or roasted peaches! These look amazing, especially with the balsamic fudge! And the vanilla gelato sounds fabulous! This is one perfect summer dessert!

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  26. Lisa! These are FA-BU-LOUS! I cannot wait for our local peach season to start.

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  27. So delicious... I can't wait for stone fruit to be back in season!

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  28. Wow, Lisa this "fudge" sounds incredible! Love this dessert :-)

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  29. Mmmm, I love grilled peaches and this takes them to a whole new level - yum!!

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  30. It's definitely hard to find the perfect peach here in the northeast, but when I do I know what I'll be making! That balsamic syrup sounds like the perfect accompaniment!

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  31. Oh yes please. I love the sound of this. I adore grilled fruits especially ripe & totally in season. Sounds like these Texan peaches pack a big flavourful punch Lisa, making them so much tastier I bet.

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  32. Hi Lisa,
    I'm literally on my way out the door but I wanted to personally invite you to play the Picnic Game on my blog. Drop by if you get a chance. I'll catch up on your latest post, which by the way looks awesome, when I get back...Louise.

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  33. i usually don't like sticky juices all over my face, but that flies out the window where grilled peaches are concerned. silverware? nah. just a napkin, please. :)

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  34. This sounds SO tasty! I really love grilled fruit...it tastes so yummy! :)

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