Grilled Fruit Platter

5 from 13 votes

Celebrate summer's best produce with a big platter of luscious grilled fruit, nuts, herbs and two indulgent sauces. Your guests will love getting to customize their own unique sundaes!

See the notes for more toppings ideas.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 308kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

For the fruit:

3 peaches
3 plums
2-3 bananas
1 pineapple
avocado oil or melted coconut oil, for the grill (or avocado oi/coconut oil spray for a grill pan)

For the Maple Ricotta Sauce:

1 (15-16 oz.) tub full-fat ricotta (or dairy-free ricotta if necessary)
5 tablespoons pure maple syrup

For the Chocolate Chai Sauce:

1 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free if necessary)
½ cup full-fat, unsweetened canned coconut milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

To grill the fruit:

Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium high. Once hot, scrub the grates with a brush. Or heat a grill pan over medium high heat.
Cut the peaches and plums in half (they usually have dents making this easier) and scoop out the pit. Cut the bananas in half lengthwise, leaving them in the peel. Trim off the top and bottom of the pineapple. Stand the pineapple up on one end and use your knife to trim down the sides, removing the knotty rind and any brown bits. Slice the pineapple crosswise into 1/2" slices. Use a small cookie cutter or paring knife to carve out the woody center of each ring and discard. (Pineapples are very juicy so you'll want to cut them last; otherwise, all your other fruits will get pineapple juice all over them.)
Wad up a paper towel(s) and dip into the avocado or coconut oil. Using long barbecue tongs, brush the grill grates with the oiled towels. Or spray a grill pan with avocado oil or coconut oil spray.
Lay the fruit on the grates, cut side down. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes per side, depending on their size (the bananas will only need about 2-3 minutes once they're peel-side down). Once cool enough to handle, remove the bananas from their peels.

To make the Maple Ricotta Sauce:

Stir the ricotta and maple syrup together. You can use a blender, food processor, mini food processor or stick blender. If mixing by hand, first force the ricotta through a fine-mesh sieve and then stir in the maple syrup for a smooth, creamy texture. Taste and add more maple syrup if you like. Makes a scant 2 cups.

To make the Chocolate Chai Sauce:

Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl and nuke in 30-second intervals until they're mostly melted (should take approx. 1.5 minutes). Stir in the coconut milk and then the spices. Go easy on the black pepper at first as the ginger is also adding a bit of heat. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Makes approx. 1.5 cups.

For serving:

Arrange the grilled fruit on a serving platter. Add bowls of the two sauces, a small bowl or pitcher of honey, piles of the nuts and fresh herbs and a small bowl of flaky sea salt, plus anything else you might like. Serve when the fruit is still warm or at room temperature. For the thyme, hold 1-2 springs over the fruit and strip off the leaves "against the grain," so to speak. If the chocolate sauce gets too thick as it sits, microwave for 30 seconds and stir.

Notes

Toppings: honey, nuts of your choice, fresh mint, thyme or basil, flaky sea salt, vanilla or salted caramel ice cream, crushed gingersnap cookies, chopped candied ginger.

For other fruit, feel free to use nectarines, apricots, pears or apples, allowing for the same 5-8 minute cooking time.

If any of the fruit seems a little too hard after grilling, put in a bowl or container with a lid to allow it to steam and soften while you prepare everything else.

Depending on the size of the grill/pan, you might have to grill in batches.

Grilled fruit can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. They will soften and release more juices as they sit but they'll still be very, very edible (but not as pretty).

Both sauces can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. If the chocolate sauce gets too stiff, nuke in the microwave to warm up and then stir in warm water, 1-2 tablespoons at at time.

Both sauces are also great on pancakes, waffles, French toast and any kind of snacky cake or bread, or as a dip for fresh fruit. The chocolate sauce would also be great served warm over ice cream.

Nutrition