Brimming with colourful and nourishing veggies, and packed with protein, my super-easy grilled nectarine salad is a delicious way to make sure you get a hefty dose of your five-a-day. Life is too short for boring salads!
I was going to write about how much I miss the diversity of fresh fruits from when I was living overseas but y'know what? One of the great things about being back in Britain is that I have access to almost any foods I can think of. Sure, some are not a patch on those that grow locally (dragon fruit over here is completely pointless, IMO, and mangoes never live up to expectations), and some are horribly expensive - e.g. my favourite fruit, rambutan, is around £20/kg here, compared 40p/kg when I was living in Thailand… but then I thought about all the yummy grub we have here that I couldn't easily buy in other countries.
Fruit such as nectarines. Yes, I could buy peaches all over the place, particularly in Southern Europe but nectarines didn't seem to be a thing, which is a shame because as much as I enjoy peaches - particularly Saturn peaches - nectarines are generally less messy! Plus, they grill better, too.
Making Grilled Nectarine Salad
Although at first glimpse, making this nectarine salad may seem like a lot of work, it actually isn't - not at all - and you'll make enough taratoor dressing to see you through several other salads too. You may even find you have some munchy seeds left over as well.
The seeds and dressing will keep for ages, BTW. Almost indefinitely for the seeds, providing they're kept in an airtight jar, and around a month in the fridge for the taratoor.
The only actual cooking involved is grilling the nectarines and peppers, and the best way to do this, I find, is to use a heavy cast iron grill pan, such as this one from Lodge. I have several cast iron skillets - two of which I received from my best friend for my 18th birthday… 38 years later, the pans and the friendship are still going strong!
Of course, if you're lucky enough to have a garden, you could cook the nectarines and peppers on a barbecue, and they'll be even more delicious, due to the added smokiness.
The rest of the salad can just be thrown together - it's complete child's play.
By the way, while I would normally make my own seitan, and then slice it up to put in this nectarine salad, I recently discovered Tofurky's deli slices, and they really are pretty good. I particularly like the smoked hickory ones - they work very well with the sweetness of the nectarines, peppers, and pomegranate.
Do feel free to sub the veggies. Or just add more to make a super-duper salad!
To make this salad gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce, and omit the seitan slices. You could add a different protein, of course, or just leave it out altogether.
To make soy-free, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce/tamari, and omit the seitan.
Super-Easy Grilled Nectarine Salad
Is…
- Ridiculously simple to make
- Full of colour and goodness
- Low calorie
- Packed with protein
- Gluten-free (if not using seitan)
- Deliciously satisfying
While this is a complete meal in itself, this is also great with my simple potato salad, or buckwheat and mung bean salad. If you're feeling adventurous, try serving it some of my yum som-o - unlikely as it may seem, the two actually do go together rather well!
Enjoy!
Super-Easy Grilled Nectarine Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 ripe nectarines stoned and cut into thick wedges
- 2 Romano peppers quartered with seeds and pith removed
- 150 g mixed salad leaves washed
- 150 g baby plum tomatoes halved
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoon pomegranate arils
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
Optional:
- 100 g seitan slices halved (I used Tofurky smoked ham-style)
Taratoor dressing:
- 120 ml water
- 6 tablespoon tahini
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Munchy seed topping:
- 1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds (linseeds)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon tamari (or light soy sauce if not bothered about gluten)
Instructions
Grill the nectarines and peppers
- Heat the grill pan on high, and place the nectarines and peppers on the ridges, cut side down. Cook for 7 or 8 mins, until the flesh has softened. Flip over, and continue to cook for another 5-6 mins.
Toast the seeds
- While the fruit is cooking, heat a small skillet on medium, and add the seeds. Gently toast for 5 mins, and then add the tamari. Remove from the heat, and mix well. Once cooled, fork over the seeds to break up any clumps which may have formed.
Put together the salad
- Place a bed of washed salad leaves onto some plates, and the halved tomatoes and onion rings. If using seitan, tuck the pieces into the leaves at various points. Sprinkle over a few pomegranate arils, pine nuts, and half of the munchy seeds.
- Arrange the grilled nectarines and peppers on the top of the salad, and top with the rest of the pomegranate, pine nuts, and seeds. Drizzle over some taratoor, and serve immediately.
- 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
- 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
- 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml
If you like this super-easy grilled nectarine salad recipe, you'll love these other salads!
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