Grilled Peach & Speck Salad

June 26 - Wings at The Fill Station
June 27 - The Boy cooked delicious BBQ Chicken, grilled green beans and a ridiculous Tomato & Buratta Salad
June 28 - Grilled Peach & Speck Salad

The weather here in Toronto yesterday was ridiculous.  In the morning when I was walking to Zumba it was humid, really ridiculously humid.  It held on my walk home after class too.  The sky had that grey quality that when coupled with humidity you just expect the sky to explode.  I prayed that it wouldn't until I got my errands done and was safely inside the house.  My prayers were answered but in the East End of town we never got that explosion of rain.  Just an afternoon sun shower.  Because of that, the humidity stuck and as a result  cooking was the last thing on my mind.  But because I didn't have anything to post I knew I'd have to pull something together.


During my stop at Fallingbrook Cafe for my post Zumba latte, I noticed that they had some San Daniele Speck.  Since I was still brainstorming what I could possibly make for dinner, seeing that speck was a "light dawns on marble head" kind of moment.  The Boy had picked up some peaches and salad greens (our favorite Epic Roots Mache Mix) the day before and I just knew that the smokey, salt ham would be the perfect foil for both of those.

When I returned home I found a square of Hudson Valley Camembert that I had picked up on a recent trip to Buffalo.  I'm obsessed with local cheese and tend to pick some up whenever we go somewhere.  I had been saving this for the boy and I to just enjoy on it's own, but the moment never arose and it was about to reach it's expiry. So onto this salad it went.

This is truly the perfect main course on those hot days when you don't want a heavy meal and need something to come together quickly.  I let the peaches marinate a bit, but it's not necessary and you could really get this together in about 15 minutes if you wanted to.

Grilled Peach & Speck Salad
serves 2

2 peaches
2 sprigs rosemary
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 slices of speck, can substitute prosciutto
1 cup mixed greens
2 oz camembert or another soft rinded cheese cut into 6 slices
high quality extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar
sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper

1.  Halve the peaches and remove the stone. In a shallow pan, like a pie plate, add the extra virgin olive.  Strip the leaves from the Rosemary sprig and place in the oil.  Place peaches cut side down in the oil on top of the rosemary leaves.  Let sit in the fridge for about an hour.
2.  Heat the grill over medium heat. Lightly oil the grates and place the peaches cut side down on the grill.  Place a few rosemary leaves on top of each peach to infuse that rosemary flavor while grilling.
3.  Dress a cutting board or plate with 4 little piles of the remaining rosemary leaves, sprinkled with seas salt & black pepper. Grill the peaches for 7-10 minutes until there are nice grill marks.  Remove from the grill to the cutting board.  The heat from the peaches will give even more of that rosemary flavor.
4. Arrange the speck on two large plates.  Divide the peach halves & salad greens between the two places.  Drizzle with balsamic & extra virgin olive oil.  Top with the cheese and just a touch of sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper.