grilled peaches with labneh, mint, and pine nuts
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 stuffed peach halves
Ingredients
- Olive oil to coat the peaches and the grill
- 5 peaches *
- Salt, to taste
- 2/3 cup labneh **
- 2 heaping tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts ***
- About 15 large mint leaves, chiffonade or chopped (from a few sprigs)
Instructions
- Oil the grill grates and preheat the grill over the highest possible heat. Close the grill while it preheats and wait for the grates to get very hot.
- Split the peaches by rolling a knife along the side and then twisting the halves to separate.
- Remove the pits without using a knife: if the peaches are on the ripe side, you will be able to remove the pit easily with your hands. If the pit is difficult to remove, work a thin spoon (like a measuring spoon) between the pointy part of the pit and the flesh of the peach. Once it’s under by a little bit, use the tip of the spoon as a lever to pry the pit out.
- Coat the cut sides of the peaches in olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt, to taste.
- Place the peaches cut-side-down on the hot grill. Let them sit undisturbed for about 2 to 3 minutes with the grill open. **** Inspect the peaches: if they are getting too soft, remove them right away. If not, use a spatula to turn the peaches 90 degrees to give them criss-crossed grill marks and cook for another 3 minutes. Don’t flip and cook the round side.
- Move the peach halves to a serving plate. Place about 1 tablespoon of labneh in the center of each peach half. Top each peach half with about 10 to 15 pine nuts, followed by a pinch of the mint chiffonade. If you’d like, finish with a little more salt.
Notes
* The peaches must be slightly ripe, but not too soft. If you have very soft, ripe peaches and still want to make this recipe, I recommend skipping the grilling part and serving everything fresh (it’s still really good). Just split the peaches, pit them, salt them, and stuff them. Avoid super crunchy, rock hard peaches altogether (or wait a few days for them to ripen before slicing them open).
** If you can’t find labneh, you can make your own, or feel free to substitute whole milk Greek yogurt, which isn’t the exact same thing, but will also be very tasty.
*** To make this more budget-friendly, feel free to use toasted almonds. The finished product will be different, but equally tasty.
**** If you have an extremely powerful grill, you should babysit them a bit more.