Grilled Fruit, Tricolor Pepper Coulis and Balsamic Reduction
Grilling fruit caramelizes the natural sugars and gives it great taste. This salad features grilled papaya, waternelon, honeydew melon, pineapple and banana.
Ingredients
1 papaya, peeled, seeded
1 seedless icebox watermelon, peeled
1 honeydew melon, peeled, seeded
1 pineapple, peeled, cored
Olive oil for brushing
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 oz. balsamic vinegar
1 red bell pepper
1 hot banana or yellow bell pepper
2 jalapeños or 1 green bell pepper
3 tbsp. olive oil
11⁄2 tsp. white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
Steps
1. Preheat grill to high. Cut all fruit into 2-in. thick slabs about 2 to 3 in. in diameter. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on high for 2 minutes, until lightly charred, then quarter turn and grill for an additional 2 minutes. Flip and grill 2 more minutes. Let fruit cool then cut into 2-in. cubes.
2. While fruit cools, reduce balsamic vinegar by half. Prepare three coulis by roasting all peppers directly over fire, turning frequently until charred. Once peppers are evenly charred, remove to plate or bowl and cover with plastic wrap or foil. Let stand about 15 minutes.
3. Transfer peppers to cutting board. Peel skin from outside of peppers and discard. Seed and finely chop each pepper separately. Place each type of pepper in separate small mixing bowl and add 1/3 of olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to each container. Mix each with fork to combine. Keep chilled.
4. Put fruit in center of plate, dot with balsamic reduction and serve with coulis on side.
Recipe by Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York (Flik Independent School Dining)