Grilled Peach Pimiento Cheese Toasts

I don’t know about you, but I am hanging on to summer for as long as possible. While this hasn’t been the summer that any of us expected, I am not ready to be cooped up indoors any more than we already have been through this strange season of quarantine. Seasonal produce has been a wonderful source of joy over the last few months, as we enjoy family time gathered around excellent meals making the most of local growers’ bounty. I have been so thankful for the hard work of our favorite local grocery stores Wildwood Market and Goose the Market for sourcing such beautiful seasonal produce through their curbside pick up services.

So as long as there are still stunning and juicy heirloom tomatoes around, we’ll be centering many of our meals around those. And as long as the weather allows and we can still get our hands on good southern peaches, we’ll keep making these grilled peach pimiento cheese toasts. Pimiento cheese is one of my favorite favorite snacks and because he loves me so, my man keeps it stocked in our fridge regularly. Normally we just eat it with crackers but this is a perfect way to make it into a light yet substantial summertime meal. A plate of these along with a bottle of good bubbles is a gorgeous way to make the most of this season while we cling to what is left of it.

Prep 5-10 minutes
Cook 10-15 minutes
Yield 4 appetizer servings or 2 entrée servings

Ingredients

2 firm-ripe peaches, pitted and quartered (see notes)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium ripe avocado
4 slices
Pimento cheese (see notes)
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Thinly sliced radish, for garnish
1 bunch watercress or microgreens
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

01
Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Brush the peach quarters with the vegetable oil. Place the peaches on the grill grates, cut side down. Grill, uncovered, until grill marks appear and juices begin to release. Turn once to grill both cut sides. Remove from the grill and cut into thick slices. Set aside.
02
Cut the avocado in half lengthwise, remove the pit, and brush lightly with the vegetable oil. Place the halves cut side down on the grill grates. Grill, uncovered, until the cut surface is charred and the avocado begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
03
Brush the bread slices with some of the olive oil and place on the grill grates. Grill until the bread is toasted, about 2 minutes per side depending on how hot your grill is. Remove the toasted bread slices to a serving platter.
04
Spread a thin layer of pimiento cheese onto each piece of toast. Scoop the avocado flesh from the peel into a bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt, and mash together with a fork until the mixture is chunky and spreadable. Spoon the avocado onto the toasts, and then top with the grilled peach slices. Garnish the toasts with sliced radish and watercress leaves or microgreens. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
05
Notes:
This is our favorite pimiento cheese recipe. Feel free to use your own, or buy the pre-made variety. Whatever floats your boat!
The original recipe calls for halving and then grilling the peaches, but this didn’t give very many grill marks on the finished dish. I modified the method to suggest quartering them to increase the surface area. Use whichever configuration leads to the most enjoyable grilling experience for you. They are still going to taste good regardless.

Source

barely adapted from Soul by Todd Richards