Grilled Stone Fruit Antipasto Plate

Stone fruits - peaches, nectarines, plums etc. - are in season now! Rather than serve them for dessert, surprise guests by making this appetizer course.

You'll need 1 pound black plums, 1 pound peaches, 1/2 pound nectarines, and 1/2 pound pluots. For all the fruit, firm ones will hold up much better on the grill than ripe. Pluots are a plum/apricot hybrid that look like a plum from the outside, but have a sweeter taste. I used Flavorosa pluots (although there are many varieties), which have a lovely pink flesh, in contrast to that of normal plums; check out the picture below to see the difference! If you can't find pluots, perhaps try apricots in their place, or add more of whichever stone fruit is your favorite.



Halve and pit all of the fruit. Yet another reason to choose firm fruit is that they will pull apart much easier when you cut along the seams! My plums were a little too soft, which made halving and pitting difficult.

Heat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Grill the fruit for 3 minutes on each side.

While the fruit grills, make the dressing: whisk together 1 tablespoon organic brown sugar, 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Drizzle the dressing over the fruit, then divide evenly among 8 appetizer plates (about 3 fruit pieces per serving). Each serving is 130 calories. Garnish with mint sprigs if you like, for a pretty presentation!

Cost:
limes $1.00
black plums $3.90
peaches $1.28
nectarines $1.14
pluots $3.91