flipping through my cooking notes, i quickly noticed most of my recipes have fruit cooked in some way - baked, preserved, fermented, sauteed, etc. then i looked back on my food experience since i was a child, cooked fruit was rare in day-to-day taiwanese cuisine, savory or sweet. the only dishes i can think of are pineapple shrimp balls, stir-fried eggs and tomato, and home style egg drop soup. tomato with egg makes sense, because it adds a balanced fruitful flavor and freshness to the bland taste of egg, and it is easy to prepare. pineapple with shrimp, as a fancy dinner party dish, might have been inspired by other southeast asian cuisines such as thai.

oh well. imagine living in a land that provides so many different types of juiciest, lush (sub-) tropical fruit produces every month. why do you even bother to change the taste of them? 

but moving to the states turns my life to a chapter where i have to make my own desserts sometimes. being health-conscious, i'd thought more fruit would balance out the carbs (yeah, i wish). thus i learned to cook with fruit, and to enjoy it better, even in savory dishes.

so i'm happy to share with you this grilled peach salad. after all, it's the peach season.

grilled peach salad

inspired by my hungry stomach

makes 1 dinner serving

step by step

whisk together honey, olive oil, salt and white wine and set aside

cook the peach halves on the grill pan. mine is similar to this. skin side up first, then the opposite side. grill until the peach flesh is caramelized and both sides get softened with dark brown grill marks. 

on the serving plate put on arugula, grilled peach. sprinkle with feta, raisin and nuts you like. i would prefer walnuts and pecans, but used pistachio this time because that's what i have in the cupboard.

drizzle with the vinaigrette and enjoy

ingredients

ripe yellow peach - 1, cut in half

pre-washed arugula - a bunch

crumbled feta - 1 tbsp

raisin - 2 tsp

nuts - 1 tsp

for lemon vinaigrette

fresh lemon juice, squeezed from 1 lemon half

honey - 2 tbsp

extra virgin olive oil - 2 tsp

salt - a pinch

white wine vinegar - 1 tsp (optional)