Roasting peaches on the grill

Cooking fruit is an easy and delicious way to make a dessert or side dish. The process of  roasting or grilling of fruits creates caramelization of the sugars which adds to the dimensions and intensity of taste. Topped with yogurt or ice cream, mint or sorbet, a perfect dessert is born and a is great alternative to cake, cookies or more traditional sweets.   Additionally, roasted peaches make a great topping to chicken, fish or pork.

Peaches grilled directly on the grates

This weekend, we purchased several dozen fresh peaches, taking advantage of the “tail-end”of the peak-season in Maryland.  My daughter and I cooked the peaches two ways:  first grilling directly on the grates of the grill (direct heat) and then roasting in a roasting pan on the grill (indirect heat). In both versions, we sprinkled brown sugar over the peaches and brushed some olive oil on the fruits. We made sure the grill grates were clean and oiled.  The direct heat version made grill marks and cooked the peaches faster while the indirect heat method cooked slower, left no grill marks, and perhaps had a bit more flavor from slower caramelization.  Both versions worked quite well, and these techniques can be applied to other fruits, including bananas, apples, figs, and pineapples.

We enjoyed our peaches this weekend! We put the leftovers  in the refrigerator, and in the morning, chopped them up and enjoyed them with unsweetened yogurt.  Yum!

Roasted peaches with ice cream and mint