Grilled Peaches and Cherries with Honey Goat Cheese

Grilled Peaches and Cherries with Honey Goat Cheese

grilled peaches

This recipe was inspired as part of the Whole Foods Amabassador program I take part in.  Every month there is a different theme and this month features grilling stone fruits. These grilled peaches adorned with the smokey sweet grilled cherries are super easy to make. Adding the salty goat cheese, sweet honey and crunchy almond mix from Sahale makes an amazing flavor and texture combination.

I made a large batch of these as I had my sister and her family visiting for the weekend.

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These peaches served as dessert after an amazing balsamic and rosemary marinated grilled chicken we grilled out for dinner.

Impress your guests with this beautiful dessert. I wish to thank Whole Foods for supplying me a gift card to purchase the ingredients. Be Sure to check out the tips below from Whole Foods Market on the best way to grill up stone fruits.

Cherries

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10 Peaches

2 Pounds Fresh Cherries

1 Package 10.5 ounces Goat Cheese

1/2 cup nut of choice, chopped

Honey to taste

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

These peaches are so easy to make, but can be tricky if your peaches are not quite ripe enough as was the case for me.  When picking them out they felt ripe, but as I got home to cut them open they would not pull away from the pit so I sliced off each half as close to the pit as I could and it worked fine.  With all of the topping on the peaches you would never know there was not a pit indention.

peach halves

 

Directions:

First thing you will want to set out the goat cheese to start softening. Then preheat your grill. Next wash and prepare your fruits

For Peaches:

Cut peaches in half and brush cut side with olive oil.

For Cherries

Pit Cherries. Using a cherry pitter is going to be the easiest way to do this but if you do not have one you can use a chopstick or straw to poke it through.

cherry pitter

Heat grill and place cherries on a grill pan and peaches cut side down.  Cook until peaches are slightly soft and have the caramelized grill marks. Give them a quick turn and grill on the other side for just a couple of minutes. Give the cherries a little stir a few times during cooking to get all sides cooked

peaches and cherries on grill

While peaches are cooking, chop up your nut of choice. I had some single serving packages of honey almond Sahale nuts that needed used up so I used those but you can use any nut you like.

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Once peaches and cherries are done. Remove from grill and place on serving platter. Using a medium size scoop, place a dollop of goat cheese on each peach. Top with a grilled cherry and chopped nut mix. Drizzle honey on top to taste.

This makes 20 halves so can serve 10 – 20. You can always cut the recipe in half for a smaller group.

Grilled peaches with cherries, honey and goat cheese

Tips on using stone fruits.
• Why they’re cool: Peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots – and don’t forget cherries! These delicious fruits ripen in summertime, and can be used in creative ways in the kitchen and on the grill.
• Grilling need to know:
Pick out a stone fruit that is ripe and firm, so it doesn’t fall apart under heat. Check out this video.
•Use moderate heat to caramelize the fruit, leaving grill marks – this is called the Maillard reaction, and by caramelizing the fruit hundreds of new flavor compounds are created. Check out this video on
•To prevent sticking, clean the grill grate well, and wipe lightly with a paper towel and neutral-flavor oil such as canola or grapeseed oil.
Awesome recipe: Smoky Nectarine Punch