Grilled Nectarine, Burrata & Prosciutto Crostini

Guys, the heat and humidity in Virginia this past week has been INSANE. When I checked my weather app at 6am yesterday, the humidity indicator was already at 96%. I’m not a metereologist or anything, but I’m pretty sure that means we’re basically moving through water at that point. Or at least that’s how it feels.

On the plus side, my skin has never felt more hydrated. On the minus side, we’ve been eating a lot of cold leftovers and chips/salsa for dinner. The outdoors is currently a furnace, why turn my kitchen into one too?

The one exception to my no-heat-in-the-kitchen rule so far has been these grilled nectarine, burrata and prosciutto crostini. Mostly because the amount of time it takes to grill fruit is so short that it’s basically like you’re not cooking at all. And have you ever tasted grilled peaches/necartines? Di-vine!

The internet tells me that applying heat to fruit speeds up the enzymes that break starches down into sugars, and that’s why it becomes extra sweet and delicious when you get it all charred and caramelized on the grill. If that’s the case, I should probably start throwing all my fruit on the grill before I eat it, because these nectarines got super juicy and sweet, with nicely caramelized bits from the charring.

Now picture this: sweet grilled peaches + creamy burrata + salty prosciutto + fragrant basil on toasted French bread. When you take your first bite, the first thing you’ll taste is the juicy sweetness of your grilled peaches bursting in your mouth. The rich creaminess of the burrata (which, in my mind, is like a super soft mozzarella) will then wrap itself around your tongue, followed by the salty, fatty, porky goodness of prosciutto. As you keep chewing, the bright, herbaceous flavor of basil will cut through the richness of cheese and pork, and you’ll get some nice crunch/texture from the toasted bread.

Is that not the most perfect bite?

As hot as it’s been, the only thing that could improve these crostinis is some chilled wine to wash everything down. Thankfully, for me, Casal Garcia sent me two bottles of their wines to try: Vinho Verde White, and Vinho Verde Rose.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m usually a red wine drinker – whites and roses tend to be too tart for me. But I’m starting to think maybe I’ve become a convert, because the last few times Dan and I went wine tasting, the whites and roses won out over the reds! These Casal Garcia wines were no exception: both light and refreshing, and perfect for summer. The white tasted lightly citrus-y, and the rose had hints of berries. I’m pretty sure neither was sparkling, but I could swear bubbles tickled my tongue when I drank them (which added to the refreshing-ness). Either way, both tasted wonderful with the flavors of these crostini.

I was maybe only supposed to feature one bottle of wine in this post, but we liked them both so much that I couldn’t decide on just one! In fact, when I made these crostini last weekend, Dan and I ended up devouring every last crumb for lunch and drinking both bottles in one afternoon. An epic nap, of course, followed. That’s the sign of a good meal!

So, a big thanks to Casal Garcia for sponsoring this post, and for the wonderful samples. I have been compensated for this post; however, all opinions are my own. Scroll down to check out the recipe!

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