Barbecued Fruit
is a Zingy Dessert

Barbecued fruit is a delightful way of rounding off your alfresco meal, so don’t waste those lovely hot embers once your meat is cooked.

Bananas

These are so simple to cook on a barbecue and a fabulous way of ending off a meal. Just throw them onto the grill still in their skins. The skins act like little individual ovens!

After about 20 minutes (according to the heat of the bbq), when the skins are brown and the barbecued fruit feels soft and squishy, put the banana on a plate and slit the skin lengthways with a sharp knife.

We then like to pour rum and cream over the inside but you could chose ice-cream or simply a mixture of vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

For a picnic which is not close to home, you might prefer to peel the bananas and wrap them in foil parcels with sugar, butter and rum or brandy, ready to put on the grill. They will taste just as good!

Apples

Peel, core and quarter some good eating apples and thread them onto skewers.
Squeeze some lemon juice over them to prevent them discolouring.
Then paint with melted butter and dip into caster sugar.
Grill for about 10 minutes, turning once or twice, until they become well caramelized.

Pineapple

Thread pieces of fresh pineapple onto skewers.
Dip them in rum and then caster sugar before grilling and turning until they caramelize.
Don’t then waste the rum! Heat it and pour it over the plated fruit skewers.
Then set fire to it so that you create flambéd pineapple. Yum!

Please remember to do this in a safe place. I once set fire to a pile of paper napkins while showing off my culinary skills in the barbeced fruit department! – thankfully no harm was done in the end, but a lesson learnt!

Peaches

Ripe peaches are a heavenly barbecued fruit.

Halve and stone them and dust with caster or vanilla sugar.
Then lay the half fruits on the grill until they warm through and caramelize a little.
Serve with yoghurt, mascarpone, or crème fraiche – or a mix of two of these.

Mangoes

Mango cheeks are also lovely grilled.

Cut each cheek down on either side of the stone and score the flesh without cutting through the skin.
Brush lightly with a flavourless oil and grill for about 4 minutes.

Figs

Luscious ripe figs can be treated in the same way as the peaches above.

Cut the figs open with a cross and open out the four quarters before dusting with the sugar and grilling.

If your figs are not quite as ripe as you would like, then you could prepare a syrup (either on the barbecue or hob) and poach them until tender.

Poaching syrup for 450 grams of fresh figs

Ingredients

450 ml dry white wine
75 grams clear honey
50 grams caster sugar
stud a small orange, satsuma or clementine with 6 - 8 cloves
a cinnamon stick

Method

Put the wine, honey and sugar into a heavy saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the studded orange and cinnamon stick.
Put in the figs.
Cover and simmer gently for 5 – 10 until the figs are tender.
Leave to cool in the liquid.

If you make this on the barbecue, then prepare it before your main course and it will sit and wait. If you prepare it on the hob, then transfer to an airtight dish for transportation to your picnic.

Serve with cream or thick vanilla yoghurt.