My Random Recipe this week is Grilled Apricots with Greek Yogurt, Warm Honey, and Toasted Walnuts from Bobby Flay's book Grill It!.
I remember buying this book for picky husband a few years ago, he never ever cooks but does like to grill steaks or hamburgers and I thought this might give him some new ideas for his grilling endeavors. I don't think he ever even looked at it, oh-well. After I randomly grabbed this book off the shelf and got ready to flip to a recipe I was thinking "no meat" since I wasn't really in the mood to convert a meat recipe over to the veg side with tofu or tempeh or something (which I do often, but this time I just wanted to make a recipe, not really fiddle with one) and I was pleasantly surprised when the page I flipped to had a beautiful photo of a nice fruit dessert.
This is a very simple recipe, the "parts are the whole" sort of thing, which was fine with me! It also gave me an excuse to pull out my poor electric indoor grill that I never use. Yay for using things that take up space! ;) I already had Greek yogurt, honey, and walnuts at home, so the only ingredients I needed were the apricots. Of course, since it is not stone fruit season here, I was half expecting to not find fresh apricots, which is exactly what happened. The recipe preface says, "If you can't find fresh apricots or they are out of season, substitute fresh nectarines, peaches, or plums. Don't let this recipe go to waste." Okay then. Fresh nectarines it is.
Grilled Nectarines with Greek Yogurt, Warm Honey, and Toasted Walnuts
adapted for an indoor grill from Bobby Flay's book Grill It!
6 ripe nectarines
3 tablespoons canola oil (I used veg oil)1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish, optional (I did have mint growing in my herb garden last summer, but none now, of course)
1. Heat your grill to high. With the electric grill and it's temperature control dial I would have liked a little guidance as to what temperature high is, I just cranked it up all the way, which is 425. I know outdoor grills get much hotter, but this ended up working just fine.
2. Brush the nectarines with the oil, place on the grill cut side down, and cook until golden brown and caramelized, about 2 minutes.
Turn the nectarines over and continue cooking until just warmed through, about 2 minutes longer.
I did about 3 minutes per side and had nice grill marks, but they were still pretty crunchy in the middle.
3. While the nectarines are cooking, combine the honey and walnuts in a small pan, place on the grates of the grill, and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. I just combined them in a bowl and microwaved it for 30 seconds.
4. Remove the apricots from the grill and place 3 halves on each plate. Top each half with some yogurt and drizzle the honey-walnut mixture over the top. Garnish wish a mint sprig, if desired. Serves 4.
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I was thinking of making these for breakfast for the kids but decided to cook them up at lunch time with my youngest and then serve them as an after school snack. I'm sure they will be a big hit. My youngest loved this, although it is something you will have to cut up into small bite sized pieces for kids, unless maybe grilling them on a real grill would make them softer? Not sure. I was ready to have these with a spoon and soon realized they are a knife and fork kind of treat. All in all I thought this was a very nice simple recipe and can't wait to try it with some seasonal stone fruit this summer. I think that you could also swap the Greek yogurt for some vanilla ice cream for a sweeter dessert, although my little guy liked it with the yogurt very much. Fruit, yogurt, nuts, and honey, what's not to love? Thanks, Bobby! :)