Grilled DulceVida™ Nectarine Summer Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 DulceVida white nectarines, halved, and pitted
4 cups mixed baby greens, washed and spun dry
½ pound burrata mozzarella, separated into 4 sections
4 slices of finely-shaved prosciutto
½ cup slivered almonds
Olive oil, for basting
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Fresh nectarine vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Instructions:

Heat a grill pan over medium-high and lightly baste the flesh of the nectarine halves with olive oil. Grill nectarines flesh-side down for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Heat a small fry pan over low-medium heat. Toast slivered almonds, continuously stirring, until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Toss the baby greens with nectarine vinaigrette to taste. Divide salad equally among four plates. Toss toasted almonds on top of salad plates.

On each plate, nestle one grilled nectarine on baby greens and top with a piece of burrata and slice of prosciutto.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Fresh DulceVida™ White Nectarine Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 DulceVida white nectarine, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. champagne vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Add nectarine, vinegar, and mustard into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour mixture into a jar and add oil, salt, and pepper. Shake well to combine.

Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week. We recommend serving with mixed baby greens and your favorite salad toppings.

Cherry & Dark Chocolate Tart

Cherry & Dark Chocolate Tart

Ingredients

Pre baked 9 inch short crust pie pastry or recipe below
3/4 cup cream
2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
125g good quality dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons good quality dark cocoa
3 tbsp almond meal
2 cups cherries, halved and pitted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°C.

Gently melt the dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Set aside.

Whisk together the cream, eggs and egg yolk, vanilla, salt and caster sugar. Whisk in the melted dark chocolate until fully combined.

Whisk in the sifted flour and cocoa until fully combined.

Sprinkle the almond meal in an even layer over the bottom of the blind baked pastry shell.

Pour the filling over the top.

Place the cherries cut side up evenly over the chocolate filling.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the filling is just set.

Leave to cool before serving.

 

Tart Pastry

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (6.2oz) flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup ice water

Instructions

To make the crust, blitz together the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add the cubed butter and pulse until the butter pieces are broken up and just smaller than pea size.

Add the ice water and pulse just until the dough comes together. Form into a disk, wrap in cling wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 inch round. Transfer into a greased 9 inch tart tin, pressing into the sides of the tin. Patch any thin edges with leftover pastry. Trim the pastry to form a neat edge. Rest in the fridge for at least 30 more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Blind bake the pastry with pie weights for 10 minutes. Remove the pie weights and bake for a further 5 minutes. Continue with the chocolate cherry filling.

Recipe created for Nature's Partner by The Brick Kitchen.

Cumin Grilled Apricots with Spiced Bulgur Pilaf & Pan-fried Fish

Serves 4

Ingredients

Spiced Bulgur Wheat Pilaf

9 ounces (1 1/4 cups) coarse bulgur wheat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Grilled Apricots

8 apricots, quartered and stoned
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
freshly ground salt and pepper

Fish
1 1/2 pounds white fish fillets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cumin & Honey Yogurt

1 cup thick Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon liquid honey

Instructions

Soak bulgur in cold water for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil in a medium pot. Add the chopped shallots and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes to soften. Add the spices and stir to combine.

Drain the bulgur and add to the pot, stirring to coat all the grains with oil. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Turn the heat down as low as possible, and cover the pot with aluminum foil and then the pot lid for a tight seal. Cook for 15 minutes on low.

When done, turn the heat off and fluff the pilaf with a fork. Add the parsley and sliced almonds and toss to combine.

To make the cumin & honey yogurt, mix together the greek yogurt with ground cumin seeds and liquid honey. Set aside until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the apricots with ground cumin & brown sugar and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill for a few minutes on each side until partially caramelized and softened.

Heat a pan over high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Pan fry for a few minutes on each side until cooked through.

Serve the bulgur pilaf with grilled apricots, pan-fried fish and cumin yogurt.

Recipe created for Nature's Partner by The Brick Kitchen.

Red Apricot, Pistachio & Lemon Cake

INGREDIENTS

6.5 oz butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ cup almond meal
1 cup pistachios
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
10-12 ripe Nature’s Partner DulceVida red apricots, halved and pits removed

Lemon Glaze:

1/2 cup icing sugar
1-2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios for topping
Thick Greek yogurt or crème fraîche, to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease and line a 9 inch springform cake tin with baking paper.

Blitz the pistachios in a food processor or nut grinder until finely ground.

Cream butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Fold through the ground almonds, finely ground pistachios, all-purpose flour, baking powder, vanilla, and lemon zest.

Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the surface with spoon. Top with apricot halves, cut side up.

Bake for 45-50min or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool.

To glaze, mix together the icing sugar and lemon juice to desired consistency. Drizzle over cake and top with chopped pistachios.

Serve with Greek yogurt or crème fraîche.

Recipe created for Nature's Partner by The Brick Kitchen.