Just Peachy | Salads perfect for Summer

Image: Recipes Recommended/Lisa Schattenkirk

Summer is my favorite time of year for many reasons. Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, the warm weather is a welcome break from the months of overcast days. The average temperature in Seattle only exceeds 70°F between late June through early September and is rarely over 80°F. With the specific climate we have, we have a lot of farms growing apples, cherries, grapes, and hops. According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington's farms power a diverse agricultural economy, led by the state's apple industry with 70 percent of U.S. production. We enjoy incredible farmers markets. Summer is the season of glorious fruits and vegetables, transformed into recipes acting as ambassadors for the region.

Many cultures around the world have their own classic recipes which have evolved based on their local agriculture. So famous are these regional dishes and/or their agriculture that some cultures are defined by them. Take, for example, Georgia, known as the Peach State, which has around 70 roads in the state named after peaches. In Atlanta, Peachtree Street is one of the city’s major routes. Similarly, Idaho is known for potatoes, and Nebraska is known for corn. If you want to know more about a region and its people, it's wise to first look at what the people there grow and eat.

Image: Recipes Recommended/Lisa Schattenkirk

Summer salads are ubiquitous. Undoubtedly, you can travel anywhere in the summer and enjoy a salad comprised of delicious local ingredients. Most people think of greens when they hear salad, but my favorites almost always omit or limit them. Lisa and I are lucky enough to live close to a farm stand that is open all summer. There's something super inspiring that happens when you walk around a farmer's market, and I always end up blowing past any budget I had going in. In mid-August, our farm stand has great peaches and tomatoes. I picked some up, not knowing what I was going to make, but certain that whatever salad I used them in would be wonderful.

Welcomed summer salad contenders include Caprese, Tomato Cucumber Feta, Mango Salad, along with salads made with grains like tabbouleh and pasta salads. Lisa and I landed on a Grilled Peach salad. Just typing this makes me drool. It is the best meal I’ve had all summer. After the first bite, I was sad that we only made enough for two people. The recipe was found in one of my America’s Test Kitchen books, The Complete Salad Cookbook. Although I made some changes – let’s be honest, mistakes, I feel the finished salad I made reflected the recipe's vision. Just like when I'm at the farm stand, recipes like this inspire you to use other ingredients in new and exciting ways, at least until the end of summer.

Image: Recipes Recommended/Lisa Schattenkirk

Grilled Peach and Tomato Salad with Burrata and Basil

The peaches I bought were a little bit on the small side and also not quite ripe. Luckily, peaches continue to ripen even after they are picked. I had some time to figure out their destiny, which was as a part of the Grilled Peach Tomato Salad. To ripen, leave peaches out at room temperature. If you want to slow down this process, you can put them in the fridge - they will last for about one week. If they start getting wrinkly, they will also likely be mealy and headed toward smoothie town. To tell if your peach is ripe, it's as easy as checking how soft it is. Hard and firm are not adjectives that describe a ripe peach. You're looking for soft, enough for your thumb to leave a small impression when pressed. It will be juicier, and the pit will also be less resistant to removal. There is nothing on this planet like a perfectly ripe peach.

After gathering all the ingredients we were going to use - peaches, tomatoes, burrata cheese, and basil - I got to work. This was the easy part. Despite my phone predicting perfect weather, it decided to rain, and thus, grilling peaches on my Weber was out of the question. My first instinct was to wait until the next day, but according to the reports, it was going to rain for the next couple of days. Anyone with kids will tell you that you're constantly pivoting and "making it work." The same philosophy holds true in any kitchen. So we decided to try cooking the peaches on our grill pan and finish them in the oven. Despite having grilled peaches before, I was a little nervous cooking them inside for some reason. I guess that's why I forgot a simple step, which I am telling you right now: Don't forget to butter your peach halves before you put them on the pan. Even though I didn't ruin the peaches, I didn't achieve the quintessential grill marks I was looking for, and they stuck to the pan enough to be annoying. If you watch our video, you'll see what I mean. Finally, I covered the pan and put it in the oven for around 15 minutes. The skins slipped right off, and I was on to the next step.

Image: Recipes Recommended/Lisa Schattenkirk

The rest of the recipe is straightforward. I diced, then seasoned a giant heirloom tomato with salt, chopped some basil, and made an unbelievably simple vinaigrette - so simple I'm not sure salt, oil, and vinegar qualify. I had to remind myself that simple is good and even if you're tempted, you don't need to meddle with it. I mixed up the diced tomato and peaches with the vinaigrette while I tore up a few balls of burrata cheese, my current favorite cheese. Everything was plated up, and after topping with the cheese and basil, I drizzled just enough olive oil to make the salad even more gorgeous. Sincerely, we hope you make this salad and please let us know how it turned out.