Grilled Peach + Charred Corn Summer Salad + Jalapeño Pesto

Okay, this is the perfect summer salad.

Grilling fruit is one of my favorite ways to eat fruit in the summer (besides fresh, of course). As delicious as grilled fruit is as a desert, nothing beats the salty-sweet combination of it with some fresh, creamy cheese in a salad - to me at least.

This salad particularly is as good as grilled fruit gets. It honestly has it all - it packs a kick from the jalapeño pesto, sweetness from the peaches, smokiness from the charred corn, a peppery bite from the arugula, saltiness from the prosciutto, and creaminess from the mozzarella.

Let’s talk about the charred corn, though. This is my favorite way to cook corn. It’s SO fast and it takes on the best smoky-sweet flavor. All you do is shuck the corn and place it directly in the oven - no need for butter/oil/seasoning - let it cook, and 15 minutes later you have corn that tastes like it’s fresh off of the grill. I use this trick a lot to get a good char on any vegetables, but corn is my favorite to do it with.

This jalapeño-pepita pesto is also really delicious - fresh mint, basil, garlic, lemon, jalapeño, pepitas, Romano cheese, and olive oil is all you really need to make it. The recipe makes more than needed for the salad, so you can use leftovers for pasta, burgers, on eggs, as a dip, or whatever else you can think of to put it on.

Grilled Peach + Corn Summer Salad + Jalapeño Pesto Dressing

serves 4-6 as a side, 2-3 as a large salad

• 3 large peaches, ripe but still firm

• 2 ears of corn

• 4 cups arugula

• 3/4 cup fresh mozzarella balls, drained from excess liquid

• 4 pieces of prosciutto (around 2-3 oz), each slice cut into 4s

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1 tbs. honey

• 1/4 cup Jalapeño-Pepita Pesto (recipe below)

Jalapeño-Pepita Pesto:

• 1 large fresh jalapeño, deseeded and roughly chopped

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves

• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

• 1/3 cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• 1/3 cup Romano cheese

• zest from 1 whole lemon

• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• 1 tbs. champagne vinegar (or sub for the other 1/2 of lemon)

• 1 tsp. each salt and black pepper

• 1 garlic clove

• 1/3 cup olive oil

In a food processor, pulse all of the pesto ingredients except for the cheese and olive oil together until a course mixture is formed. Pulse in the cheese, and then slowly pour the olive oil in while blending to form a thick pesto consistency. Store in an airtight jar/container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Shuck the corn and remove all husks and silks. Place the corn into the oven, directly onto the oven racks. Cook for 10 minutes and turn the oven to a broil. Keep corn under the broiler to get a good char on it. Rotate the corn to get each side charred. Remove when all sides have been hit under the broiler. This process should take around 5 minutes, depending on how hot your broiler gets. Let the corn cool before cutting off of the cob.

Heat either a grill or grill pan. Slice the peaches into four sections, and then cut those sections in half. Mix the lime juice and 1 tbs. honey together and brush the flesh side of the peaches with the mixture. Flesh side down, place the peaches on the grill/grill pan and cook on each side until the peaches are golden brown with grill marks. Brush again lightly with the lime/honey mixture and set aside to cool. Reserve the leftover lime/honey mixture.

Toss and gently massage the arugula with 1 tbs. olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add in the mozzarella, prosciutto, and corn. Mix the rest of the lime/honey mixture with the 1/4 cup pesto to make your dressing. Drizzle over the salad and toss. Top with the grilled peaches and finish with a heavy sprinkle of black pepper.