It's the last day of National Barbecue Week, and the second day of the Jubilee Weekend. True to form, the weather's gone grim in many parts of the country for the occasion, so Great British Chefs blogger Monica Shaw wanted to cheer herself up and at least pretend it's summer. Discover how she did this Vineet Bhatia's dish
Blog post & photography by Monica Shaw
Enter Vineet Bhatia's recipe for Grilled Peaches with Cardamom Panna Cotta. I'd been eying this recipe for a while and it seemed like the perfect way to brighten up this Jubilee / Barbecue Week double whammy. Plus, it would be a great way to break in my new barbecue, bought last week in the spirit of the now absent sunshine.
I'm not usually one for desserts - I'm not into cakes or pastry or anything overly sweet. But I do like fruit, especially peaches, and I was insanely curious about how they'd be on the grill. And the panna cotta sounded like a nice, light creamy finish to offset the tang of the peaches. So I dove right in.
In Vineet's recipe, the pears get "grilled" in a wok, to which he adds butter, brown sugar, crushed fennel, cardamom and lemon juice. To adapt this to the outdoor barbecue, I melted the butter with the other ingredients and let it bubble until the sugar melted. I then cut the peaches in half and put them on the hot, oiled barbecue cut-side down. After a few minutes, I turned them over, basted the tops with the sugary butter, and grilled bottom-side down until the tops were bubbling and the peaches were soft.
I followed the panna cotta recipe to the letter, using silicone muffin moulds to set them in. This was my first time making panna cotta and it was relatively painless. I did have to do a little external research to figure out how to get them OUT of the silicone moulds. The answer: put some boiling water in a roasting pan, then set the moulds in them for a minute or two and the panna cotta slips out easily. It's a bit tricky to handle, though - I found it easiest to plate them with my hands.
I didn't make the white chocolate rabdi because I'm not a massive fan of white chocolate and I wanted this to be more about the peaches than anything else. I plated the panna cotta and the peaches and added a few almonds for garnish. And then it was time for a taste.
The peaches alone are outstanding. I couldn't resist popping a peach half into my mouth straight off the grill, despite the risk of burning my mouth. I couldn't help it: they looked so appealing bubbling away on the barbecue. And the aroma from the cardamom and fennel was intoxicating. I can already tell these will become a regular part of my grilling repertoire - a great solution for an easy pudding, to go with a bit of ice cream, or in this case, panna cotta, which was fun to make and a fairly easy way to make a very special dessert. And together, the panna cotta and grilled peaches certainly banished the rainy day Sunday blues.
Blog post & photography by Monica Shaw
Have you ever tried grilling fruit? What did you grill & what did you serve with it? What are some of your favourite desserts to cheer up a rainy day? Let us know over on Great British Chefs Facebook Page
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