Stone fruit season is upon us. As we move into summer, the prices will come down and there will be no shortage of peaches, nectarines and apricots to try. While we’re waiting a few weeks for the fruit to mature enough to make jams, crumbles and pies, here is a lovely recipe that uses less than perfectly ripe fruit to great effect.
Chef Corina Weibel is already working stone fruit into the menu at Canelé in Atwater Village. She buys fruit that is a little under-ripe, then adds sugar and thyme to caramelize the pitted and quartered peaches, apricots and nectarines. The stone fruit is served at the restaurant skin-on with burrata, almonds and a black cherry agrodolce. The only decision you’ll have to make is whether to eat this dish as a first course or for dessert.
Chef Corina Weibel’s Burrata with Roasted Stone Fruits and Black Cherry Agrodolce
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
2 apricots, pits removed and quartered
1 peach, pit removed and quartered
1 nectarine, pit removed and quartered
Banyuls vinegar
Olive oil
Fresh thyme leaves
Sugar
Other ingredients
1 round of good quality burrata
Blanched almonds, toasted and sliced lengthwise
Sea salt
Baby arugula or mâche
Black Cherry Agrodolce (recipe follows below)
Instructions
Grill the fruit: Heat your pan until it’s quite hot over medium-high heat. Then add the fruits cut-side down. Make sure to shake the pan a little to prevent the fruit from sticking. Using a metal spatula, turn the pieces of fruit over to check for color. Once they have turned a deep golden color, flip all of them over and sprinkle them with some sugar and add the thyme leaves.
Next toss the fruit gently in the pan allowing the sugars to caramelize a little bit and the fruit to continue to color without burning. Once the process of deep caramelization is completed, deglaze the pan with a generous splash of Banyuls vinegar. Remove the fruit from the pan and set it aside.
To serve: Divide the burrata evenly onto four plates and sprinkle the cheese with a little bit of sea salt. Next, gently toss the fruit with the baby arugula and some of the pan juices in a bowl. Arrange the fruit in a mound over a section of the burrata. Then sprinkle on the sliced almonds. Finish the dish with a drizzle of the Black Cherry Agrodolce.
Black Cherry Agrodolce
Ingredients
¼ cup cherries, pitted
3 tbsps sugar
Banyuls vinegar
Instructions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cherries and sugar. Lower the heat to a simmer and allow the juice to thicken. After about 30 minutes, the consistency should be syrupy yet still chunky with the cherries.
Once the proper consistency has been reached, add a generous splash of Banyuls vinegar and crank up the heat to high for about 15 seconds. Then turn off the heat and allow the Black Cherry Agrodolce to cool to room temperature.
Photo of grilled peaches (top) by Mike McCune.