Pretty to look at and delicious to eat. This end of summer, grilled peach salad is easy-breezy, and a refreshing side dish to accompany any barbecue fare. Peaches, basil, and bocconcini are drizzled with a healthy honey balsamic dressing.
A salad should be more than just lettuce in a bowl. Right? I like flavors and crunchiness. Don't you? And sometimes the simplest of ingredients are the best! This yummy salad has cucumbers, celery, basil, bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), and red onions, with arugula, and baby spinach. Yes, you read that right. Celery. I don't usually eat celery, but I had some leftover from another recipe (my amazing crab cakes). I like to cut the celery on an angle, which is a trick I learned years ago from watching Martin Yan's, Yan Can Cook cooking show on PBS. My father and I would make stir fry together, and we would cut the bok choy on an angle this way. I think it makes a dish look interesting.
This salad goes well with anything from the barbecue. Chicken, pork, fish, hamburgers, really anything. It's light and refreshing on a hot day, and I thought it would be great to bring to my friend's Labor Day get-together.
This delicious summer salad is very simple, but my recipe is just a suggestion. Though the combination of these flavors works well together, you can make substitutions. For example, if you don't like arugula, then use Romaine. If you don't like red onions, leave them out. When a recipe has options, it makes cooking easy and a little less stressful. Don't you think?
Grilled peaches are a relatively new idea to me. While I have had them with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel sauce, I had not had them in a salad. They add a slight sweetness, which I like. For this salad, I chose to grill sliced peaches, for the ease of eating them, and I was making this for several people. Otherwise, you could cut them in half and place them on the grill, as instructed here.
The salad dressing was inspired by another grilled peach salad I had seen. While the flavor profile of that salad is totally different than mine, the dressing works perfectly for my version too.
The dressing has the right amount of sweetness from the honey, and it uses a touch of extra virgin olive oil, along with plain Greek yogurt. I made a slight change to the original dressing by adding an extra tablespoon of olive oil and replaced the apple cider vinegar with white wine vinegar. This dressing goes perfectly with the peaches.
I hope you try this salad before the summer peaches are gone.
Until next time, my friends. XO!
End of Summer Grilled Peach Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing
Serves about 6 to 8 as a side
Ingredients
4 peaches, cut in half, pit removed, sliced thick
2.5 ounces arugula (about 1/2 of the container)
2.5 ounces baby Spinach (about half of the container)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Persian cucumber, sliced
2 celery stalks, cut on a diagonal
1 container, bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), cut in half, or leave whole
6 basil leaves, thinly sliced
For Dressing
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons plain, Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt (or to your taste)
Method
In a medium sized bowl, toss peaches with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil. Place peaches on hot grill, cook until grill marks appear. Flip and cook on other side. Remove from grill and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, arrange arugula and baby spinach on a platter. Add red onions, cucumber, celery, cooled peaches, mozzarella, and top with sliced basil.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a shaker bottle or mason jar, and shake until combined. Drizzle over salad. Serve immediately.
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