Grilled Stone Fruit Salad: Sweet Summer Picnic Delight

Grilled fruit

During late spring and early summer, many stone fruits and tomatoes are at their best. When you grill them together, the flavors blend into a colorful, tasty salad that works well as a light lunch or a side at a backyard gathering.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Total time: 25 minutes

Grilled Stone Fruit Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 lb mixed tomatoes (small heirloom and cherry), halved
  • 1 lb ripe stone fruits – plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines or a mix – sliced
  • ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • ⅓ cup toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp capers, rinsed
  • ⅓ cup fresh chives, thinly sliced
  • 8 oz ciliegine mozzarella, torn in half
  • ¼ cup basil leaves, torn

Directions

  1. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium. Cut all tomatoes and fruit into bite‑size pieces that are about the same size. Set aside half of each.
  2. In a bowl, toss the remaining tomatoes and fruit with 2 tbsp olive oil, maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Place them cut‑side down on the grill (use a grill basket or skewers for tiny pieces). Grill 6–10 minutes, turning once, until they soften, get a light char and start to caramelize. Remove and let cool a moment.
  3. Put the grilled pieces together with the raw pieces in a large bowl. Drizzle the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle lemon zest. Gently mix in most of the almonds, chives, basil, all the capers and the mozzarella.
  4. Top the salad with the remaining almonds, chives and basil. Serve immediately.

Serves: 8 (about ¾ cup per person)

Nutrition per serving – 286 kcal, 17 g fat, 5 g saturated, 7 g monounsaturated, 2 g polyunsaturated, 15 mg cholesterol, 172 mg sodium, 24 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 14 g protein. Also provides 33 % calcium, 22 % iron, 991 mg potassium, 174 % vitamin A and 225 % vitamin C.