pat's Recipe

Grilled Fruit Bruschetta with Honey Mascarpone (f&w)

Category: Fruits

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dried lavender buds
4 large apricots, halved and pitted
4 nectarines, halved and pitted
1/2 pound sweet cheeries, pitted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tespoons finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus
more for brushing
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup mascarpone
2 tablespoons honey
eight 1-inch thick slices of peasant bread
8 rosemary skewers, most of the leaves
stripped off

Put the sugar and lavender in a spice grinder and grind to a powder. In a large bowl, combine the lavender sugar with the apricots, nectarines, cherries, lemon juice, orange zest and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Toss well and season lightly wth salt and pepper. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir the mascarpone with the honey and season with pepper. Brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil.
Light a grill. Thread the fruit onto the rosemary skewers; reserve any juices in the bowl. Grill the bread over high heat until lightly charred and crisp, about 30 seconds per side. Grill the fruit skewers over moderate heat, basting a few times with the reserved juices, until lightly charred and just tender, about 4 minutes per side.
Spread the honey mascarpone onthe grilled bread and halve each slice. Transfer to a platter. Slide the fruit off the skewers onto the bread, drizzle some of the juices over the fruit and serve.

make ahead: the honey mascarpone can be refrigerated overnight. The fruit skewers and bread can be grilled and kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

8 servings