I’m still working on my Paris posts, so in the meantime, I thought I’d remind you of this easy recipe for fresh local peaches.  Tossed with sweet onions, crisp bacon and cheese – it’s an umami-filled combination.  I made it this week with the peaches I picked up from Kernan Farms on Sunday.  Delicious!

Grilled Peach and Bacon Salad
Serves 2.

Ingredients
3-4 ripe peaches
4 slices of bacon
2-3 red or green peppers, seeded (optional)
1/2 a large Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 tbsp of honey
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
A few sprigs of fresh oregano or thyme
1/4 tsp of red pepper
1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese
A few sprigs of fresh parsley or other herbs, for garnish

Directions

Partially cook the bacon. It should still be slightly fatty and not quite crisp enough to crumble. (2 minutes in the microwave saves time and is less messy.) Cut bacon into bite-size pieces and set aside. Pre-heat grill to medium high. Slice peaches in half and remove the pits. Leave skin on. Then slice into sections, drizzle with honey and set aside. Slice or julienne the peppers, if using, and onions. In a separate bowl, toss the peppers and onions with oil, salt, pepper, fresh herbs and red pepper. (Note: I tried this recipe with tangerine, roasted garlic and jalapeno oil.  All were delicious.)  Place the veggies and bacon in a grill pan.

Grill over medium heat for 7 minutes, tossing frequently so that the veggies char and bacon gets crisp. Add peaches and cook for another 3 minutes, continuing to toss. (If peaches are harder, add them earlier.) When all ingredients are nicely charred and not burnt, remove from the grill. Should be approximately 10 minutes total. Then toss in the blue cheese. You can leave it in crumbles or, because it will melt well, you can mix it through so it makes a gooey sauce with the peach juices. (Feta or goat cheese would also work if you have an aversion to blue.) Top with some fresh herbs.

This does goes well with pork, lamb or veal.  But since it’s summer, you can also serve it with grilled monkfish topped with pesto cream sauce for an elegant and quick weeknight dinner.

To drink: I’ve been on a kick with French wines- some whites from the Jura work really well with meat.  Too bad I can’t recall the name of the one I had at Spring in Paris.