Grilled Peach Melba - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 4 Servings

Comment: The Peach Melba was invented in 1892 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier to honor the Australian soprano, Nellie Melba. It combines two favorite summer fruits: peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream. The original recipe calls for poaching the peaches in the syrup, this version gives a summer flair to this classic dessert.

Ingredients:

4 medium peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut in half 
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
1 vanilla bean, scraped, and reserve seeds
8 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
1 tbsp sugar
vanilla ice cream, for serving

Method:

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the seeds from the vanilla bean over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the peaches to the syrup mixture, stirring lightly to coat well, then set aside. In a food processor, add raspberries, remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar and puree.  Pass the raspberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Cover the raspberry sauce and refrigerate, discarding solids. Once the grill is hot, place the peaches over direct heat and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove from the heat and return to the syrup. Cover with aluminum foil and let stand for 5 minutes. To serve, place the ice cream into 4 bowls and top each bowl with 2 peach halves. Drizzle each bowl with the raspberry sauce and serve immediately.