Tag Archives: peach

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Feta and Nectarine

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Summertime, and a warm day just cries out for a cool, cool, treat. Especially here in São João do Estoril, Portugal, where it’s supposed to be 33°C (or 92°F) tomorrow.

It’s tomato season, and stone fruit season, and the two fit together in a tangy yin-yang, especially with a little cheese to bind them. I have to admit I stumbled across the idea by accident, when I was slicing a nectarine with a knife I’d previously used for Feta (kids, don’t try this at home; I should have used a fresh knife to avoid cross-contamination). The salt of the cheese and the sweet of the fruit reminded me of kissing Kim Wilson sometime back in the Pleistocene. Wherever that taste came from, I wanted more.

I’m guessing that this could work equally well with apricot or plum or peach, and bleu cheese or Roquefort or Gorgonzola (though they are more pungent than Feta, so you might have to adjust the ratio). Why nectarine? In the words of my pal Mel Brooks, “Half a peach, half a plum, it’s a helluva fruit!”

This is easy to make, unless you wanna get all super fancy. Mix the cheese and fruit in a food processor, chill it, pipe it into the tomato, chill until serving. I could have blanched and peeled the nectarine, but firstly, you will want to use a ripe nectarine, and secondly, did I mention it was summer? Too darn hot to be boiling water if you don’t have to.

The recipe is simple: two parts nectarine to one part Feta. I used two sizeable nectarines totalling about 300 grams, and one 150g package of Feta (drained). Blend in a food processor. Scoop out the guts of your cherry tomatoes (this will fill a couple dozen easily), and pipe in the mix. Because I was only making a dozen, I just spooned in the mix with a demitasse spoon, so the final product didn’t look quite as elegant as it could have. Our guests were kind enough to pretend not to notice.

PRO TIP: Slice a little bit off the bottom of each tomato first, so they will sit up on the plate.

INGREDIENTS (makes about two dozen tomatoes)

1 package cherry tomatoes (the larger the tomato, the better, as far as ease of stuffing goes)
2 nectarines, ripe (a little over 300g / 10 oz.)
150g / 5 oz. Feta cheese

Bacon-Wapped Peaches on the Electric Smoker

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If this isn’t the easiest summertime recipe ever, I don’t know what is. Summer, of course, is stonefruit season, and peaches go together with smoke and bacon just as magnificently as Peaches goes together with Herb. Simply cut as many peaches as you care to, wrap them each in a slice of bacon, stick them with a toothpick, and splash them with a little balsamic vinegar… or not. Half an hour later, they’re done! [I used a pellet mix of hickory, maple, and cherry; lighter woods (say, other than mesquite) are recommended.]

I served them with a little conserva de pulpo (Galician tinned octopus in olive oil), which I put, in the can, on the smoker for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

UPDATE 24 August 2019: Just got a shipment of fresh peaches from Frog Hollow Farm, and it was a complete game changer. I’m talking the difference between a Toyota RAV4 hybrid and a Lexus RX 450h. Or, if you’re not a car buff, the difference between Mumm DVX and Nicolas Feuillatte Palmes d’Or. In other words, you’ll be starting off at an okay place with the basic recipe, but the upgrade is more than an order of magnitude better.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 firm yellow or white peaches, halved
4-6 strips thick cut bacon (1 per each)
1 tbsp. / 15 ml balsamic vinegar (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat smoker to 325°F / 163°C
Cut peaches in half
Wrap 1 bacon slice per peach half around fruit, secure with toothpick
Drizzle balsamic over peaches and bacon
Place peach halves directly on grill, close lid
Turn peach halves over half way through (15 minutes)
Remove at 30 minutes and let cool slightly