July Recipes: Grilled Peach and Gorgonzola Salad
- Felicity Vincent
- Jul 26, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 1, 2024
Say no to boring salads! This grilled peach salad is one of my favourites.
Sweet caramelised grilled peaches, with creamy tangy gorgonzola, slightly bitter sweet peas, and crunchy almonds. A perfect combination, and the ultimate summer salad for an easy healthy lunch.
This easy summer salad is so quick and easy to put together yet full of flavour and textures. Full of good mood foods such as nuts, blue cheese, green sugar snaps and peaches, it's also a great salad for physical and mental health. Eat it as it is or on top of a slice of sourdough bread.
This recipe is only available for my paid subscribers.
Follow the link below to create an account and gain full access to this recipe with its own 'how to video' + extra tips, keys to success and detailed health/mood benefits. You'll also get access to my full catalogue of 80+ seasonal healthy recipe, travel recommendations and a new exclusive recipe with a detailed video every week.
Only £3.99/month.
Ingredients (serves 2):
Grilled peach ang gorgonzola salad recipe:
150g sugar snap peas
25g almonds
2 nectarines/peaches (approx 200g)
30g gorgonzola picante
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs EVOO
1 Tbs rapeseed oil (or vegetable oil)
s&p
Method:
How to make this grilled peach salad:
Cut the peaches or nectarines in half, remove the pit then slice the halves into small segments (cut into 1/8th approximately). Toss the segments into a bit of oil, black pepper and sea salt.
Put a frying pan on medium high heat. Toast the almonds in the dry pan for 2 minutes then transfer them onto the chopping board. Roughly chop them into smaller chunks.
Place the frying pan back onto the hob and heat up 1/2 Tbs of rapeseed oil. Then add the sugar snap peas and cook them for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they have started to char on both sides.
Transfer the peas to a plate and place the frying pan back onto the medium high heat. Carefully place the peach segments, flesh side down, onto the pan.
Cook for 1 minute on each side, or until they have caramelised and browned all over.
Cut up the gorgonzola into bitesize chunks using a knife or teaspoon.
In a large bowl: add the balsamic vinegar, EVOO and half of the gorgonzola. Stir to combine, mashing the gorgonzola into the dressing with a fork.
Toss in the peaches, sugar snap peas and almonds. Make sure everything is well coated in the gorgonzola balsamic dressing then serve up.
Top with the remaining chunks of gorgonzola and enjoy. Bon appétit!
More about this peach recipe:
Recipe shortcuts:
You can also use tinned peaches, just drain them and coat in a bit of oil and salt before grilling. This also means you can still make this salad out of season using tinned peaches and replacing the peas with other seasonal greens or frozen peas.
If you aren't a fan of blue cheese, this recipe also works with goat's cheese or feta cheese.
Make it vegan by replacing the gorgonzola in the dressing with 1 Tbs of tahini and 2 Tbs of water.
You can also swap out the grilled sugar snap peas for salad leaves such as spinach, rocket or a butterhead lettuce.
Keys to success:
Make sure to either coat the peach or nectarine slices in a bit of oil before grilling or oil the pan, to ensure they don't stick.
Health benefits of peaches:
They're a good source of:
biotin which enables us to release energy from food and supports cell health;
vitamin C which supports bone and cell health, the immune system, as well as enabling wound healing;
soluble fibre which helps lower blood cholesterol, and slows the release of energy from food. It also helps bulk stools with water and serves as a prebiotic, meaning it feeds our gut bacteria for a healthy microbiome.
insoluble fibre - helps to make you feel full, and soften stools for better digestive health. It is also associated with phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties.
The beautiful yellow colour of peaches and nectarines comes from carotenoids and beta carotene.
One of these carotenoids is lutein which has been proven to support eye health. It may slow down the affects of age-related vision loss and cataracts. Its anti-inflammatory properties may also support cognitive function and a decreased risk of cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body which in turn supports good vision, eye health, skin health, and the immune system.
Peaches also contain antioxidants, notably polyphenols such as the phenolic acid chlorogenic acid and the flavonoid catechin.
Antioxidants scavenge free radicals to slow down physical signs of ageing and prevent certain types of cancers and CVDs.
Catechins in particular are anti-inflammatory and can cross the blood-brain barrier. They have been associated with brain health, and may prevent certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Chlorogenic acid has strong anti-inflammatory properties which contribute to brain and heart health. Early studies show promising affects on type 2 diabetes symptoms and preventing strokes.
Peaches contain fibre to support our gut bacteria and prevent certain types of cancer.
Peaches also contains sorbitol which gives it some of its sweet taste. This sugar alcohol has a low GI and is not absorbed in the small intestine, therefore it can reach the large intestine to feed some of our gut bacteria which in turn supports body function and mental health. It also has some laxative effect and therefore should not be consumed excessively.
Mood Food - Focus:
Low GI - they maintain a steady release of energy to the brain over a prolonged period of time;
Vitamin C - involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline which will make you feel more awake and alert;
Prebiotic polyphenols - among other benefits, our microbiome convert them to tryptophan (precursor to the good mood hormone serotonin);
Folate (peas) and Calcium (blue cheese) - required for the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin for a feeling of serenity; Probiotics (good bacteria found in blue cheese) - current studies show they support good mood and mental health.
Hopefully this makes you excited to try this and many other peach recipes during its season!
You can find lots of ideas on how to cook with peaches in my newsletter: https://felicityvincent.substack.com/
Full Video:
Cook along with this step-by-step video and learn how to make my grilled peach and gorgonzola salad recipe.
Photos:
Comments