In this Grilled Nectarine and Goats Cheese Salad the caramelised fruit pairs perfectly with the soft, mellow goats cheese. Get the recipe below.

Simple salads

This post originally formed part of a warm salad series I ran in 2012. We were moving from summer to autumn and I wanted to share some simple salad recipes that would still help to warm you up as the days got cooler.

All of the salads in the series involved at least one cooked ingredient using techniques such as grilling, gridling and baking.

This recipe includes grilled nectarine wedges that are soft and juicy, the grilling having bought out their juices which have then caramelised slightly. These nectarine wedges are then paired with baby leaves and crumbled feta.

How to grill nectarines

Salad recipes are essentially an assembly job. The hardest part of this salad is grilling the nectarines and that isn't hard at all.

First you need to cut the nectarines in half and remove the stones. If they are beautifully ripe this shouldn't be a tricky job at all.

Once the stone has been removed cut each half into two or three wedges depending on the size of the fruit.

You can then brush them with a little maple syrup or even runny honey to help them caramelise under the grill.

Once you've prepped your nectarine wedges, place them skin-side down on to a tray, turn the grill on to a medium heat and them place them into the grill.

Can I cook the nectarines on a BBQ?

Absolutely! If you want to make this salad as a side dish for a BBQ then grilling them on a BBQ makes them an extra special side dish. Your friends and family will be so intrigued by fruit being placed on the BBQ which adds some extra flair to the dish.

This method also gets those beautiful, slightly charred lines across the soft edges of the fruit.

Just be mindful that it is harder to control the heat of a BBQ and these nectarine wedges will cook in no time at all.

Can I cook the nectarines in a griddle (or grill) pan?

Yes. If you own a griddle pan brush it with a little oil first then place the maple brushed nectarines soft side down on to the griddle pan.

If you want those nice char lines on both sides of the wedge, flip them half way through cooking.

Can I use something other than nectarines?

Yes! Grilled peaches also work really well in this recipe. You could also use wedges of poached pear in place of the nectarines.

Can I make this Grilled Nectarine and Goats Cheese Salad vegan?

As more of us move to a plant based diet I'm trying to include more options for vegans. Not least because I still love this salad and want to be able to enjoy it but without the goats cheese.

The good news is that there's a fantastic imitation goats cheese made by Strictly Roots, an artisan vegan cheese maker in the UK. Their Goat-ee vegan cheese is made from an organic soya base that is double fermented. It's then dusted with nettle powder to bring a grassy, farmyard flavour to the cheese. It's the perfect alternative.

If you can't get hold of Strictly Roots' Goat-ee then any of the vegan feta cheeses sold in supermarkets would do just fine.

The recipe