Recipe: Green Leaf Lettuce with Grilled Peaches and Blue Cheese with Faux Catalina Dressing

Recipes title

Green Leaf Lettuce with Grilled Peaches
and Blue Cheese
with Faux Catalina Dressing

I know grilled fruit may sound a little funny, but just try it, all right? You will love it, guaranteed. The smoky edge provided by the grilling fire is the perfect complement to the sweet juiciness of summer's fruits. The Catalina dressing is an attempt to duplicate a dressing that I used to enjoy as a child at the Cascades Restaurant in Williamsburg, Virginia. Try it on a chicken or turkey salad. In fact, it's a good all-purpose dressing.

Serves 4 to 6

Best substitute greens: Red leaf, Green leaf, Boston, Bibb, Oak leaf, or Romaine.

For the dressing
2 tablespoons catsup
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 medium lime)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the salad
2 peaches, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons molasses
2 bunches green leaf lettuce, trimmed, washed, and dried
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese of your choice

1. Prepare a medium-hot fire in your grill.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine the catsup, mustard, sugar and garlic, and purée. with the motor still running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn the motor off, add the lime juice and balsamic vinegar, and pulse to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Grill the peach halves over a medium-hot fire until just browned, 4 to 5 minutes, brushing with the molasses during the last minute of cooking. Remove from the grill, cut each half into quarters, and place in a large bowl.

4. Add the lettuce to the peaches. Stir the dressing well, add just enough to moisten the ingredients (there will be some dressing left over), and toss to coat. Place on a platter or individual serving plates, sprinkle liberally with the blue cheese, and serve at once.

Recipe from:
Lettuce in Your Kitchen
by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughy
William Morrow & Company, Inc.
1998, Softcover, US $10.00
Recipes & photos reprinted by permission