Grilled Peach Crostini

Well, here we are in late July. Where is the summer going? Too fast, that’s where. My tomato garden is now more of a tomato jungle and I have more zucchini than I will ever be able to use. I’ve started sending zucchini home with friends like party favors. Late July is a great time of summer, though. It’s when the late summer fruits start to come into season. When the kids were little, I would take them to a local orchard around this point in the summer. They would climb the peach trees and pick to their hearts’ contents. Some of my favorite summer photos of them are from that orchard when they were hanging from the peach trees upside down with goofy little smiles on their faces.

They love summer peaches, and so do I. Sadly, the Big Guy is not only allergic to berries but also to stone fruits. I seriously feel so bad for him. But the silver lining is that he can eat the fruits as long as they’re cooked. And when I made this Grilled Peach Crostini, he happily helped himself to seconds and thirds.

Pairing cheese and fruit

I was right along with him, and I’ll be the first to tell you, these are seriously tasty little toasts. I have always loved pairing cheese with fruits, and I think peaches and blue cheese are one of the absolute best pairings around. Grilling the peaches has the same effect as baking peaches in a pie or cobbler – the flesh starts to caramelize when it’s heated and becomes softer and sweeter. The caramelized peaches paired with the tangy, pungent blue cheese is truly a match made in heaven. Even people who aren’t total blue cheese lovers still love this Grilled Peach Crostini, probably because the blue cheese is blended with cream cheese to make it spreadable and a bit more mellow in flavor.

Because we are cutting the sharpness of the blue cheese, you can really go nuts when you select the blue cheese you want to use. I go for the really stinky kind, the kind that makes your jaw tingle when you take your first bite. My favorite blue cheese is Bayley Hazen, which you can find at various cheese shoppes and markets, and also online. If you can’t find it, not to worry – the gold standard of blue cheese, Stilton, is always a great bet. Stilton cheese is widely available too.

Blue cheese appears on my cheese boards pretty often, and always accompanied by some local honey for drizzling. Honey adds a sweet final touch to this Grilled Peach Crostini. And the flavor combo is blow-your-mind delicious. I know I’m repeating myself, but this is seriously one of the best fruit and cheese pairings there is. It’s a nice change of pace from what you’d typically do with summer peaches. As the summer season presses on, I’m sure there will be lots of fruit cobblers and crisps. But this Grilled Peach Crostini is a good first taste of the stone fruits that are coming into their peak seasons.

How to make Grilled Peach Crostini

Speaking of firsts, this crostini is a natural choice for a first course or appetizer before a grilled meal. You’ve got the grill going anyway, and this whole thing comes together outside.

Just throw the bread slices onto the grill along with the peaches and take it all off at the same time. Spread the toasts with the blue cheese mixture, top them with peaches, honey and fresh thyme. You can truly prep and serve the whole thing outside. Which is where we should be in late July anyway, right? Enjoy!

Grilled Peach Crostini

Summer peaches, blue cheese and honey combine on grilled toasts for an easy and elegant appetizer

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 15 toasts

Ingredients

  

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• 1 loaf of Italian bread cut into slices
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
• 4 oz. blue cheese room temperature
• 4 peaches
• honey and fresh thyme for garnish

Instructions

 

• Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Wash peaches and remove the pits. Cut peaches into 1/4 inch thick slices. Brush peaches on one side with olive oil. Also brush bread slices on one side with olive oil.
• Mash the cream cheese and blue cheese together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Place bread and peaches, oiled sides down, onto the grill grates. Cook 4-5 minutes until grill marks appear, then flip. Brush peaches with oil but leave the toasts dry on one side. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes and remove from grill.
• Spread blue cheese mixture onto each toast, followed by 2-3 peach slices. Finish with chopped thyme leaves and a drizzle of honey.

Keyword appetizers, bruschetta, easy, toasts

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