Movin' to the Country: Grilled Peach Lassi

One of my favourite parts of summertime is the crazy-delicious fresh peaches grown right here in Ontario. And that's been especially true these past couple of weeks, because this year's crop of Niagara peaches is especially amazing - intensely flavourful, sweet and oh-so-juicy.

Forget Eat a Peach Day. At my house, it's basically Eat a Peach Month all August long.

I've already eaten my weight in peaches over the last couple of weeks, and have absolutely no intention of stopping until the peaches are all gone. It's an annual tradition.

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me

My only problem is that sometimes I just can't eat those peaches quite fast enough, and a few of them end up a little past their prime.

Thankfully, there's plenty you can do with a slightly overripe peach, even if it's too smooshy to eat out of hand. I'm talking about everything from cake to muffins to barbecue sauce.

But one of my favourite options is this delicious grilled peach lassi.

What's a Lassi?

Lassi is a yogurt-based drink that is popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The base for all lassis is a combination of yogurt, milk and water. From there, different flavours are added depending on what kind of lassi you're making.

The most traditional versions are either salted and sprinkled with spices, or lightly sweetened and scented with flavours like rosewater or cardamom.

Here in Canada, the most popular version is a sweet version flavoured with fresh fruit. It's typically made with fresh mangoes, but you can also make it with just about any summer fruit you've got kicking around... like, say, a few peaches that are slightly past their prime.

That said, you can easily adapt this recipe to work with other summer fruits, like strawberry, plum or pineapple.

Meet Your New Summer BFF: The Grilled Peach Lassi

You can make a perfectly lovely lassi using just fresh peaches and yogurt, but I've discovered that something magical happens when you grill them first - the flavour gets a little deeper, a little mellower, and a little bit sweeter. A splash of kefir keeps things bright and tangy, while a sprinkle of cardamom adds a little exotic je-ne-sais-quoi.

It's a tall glass of bright summer sunshine on a hot, muggy day (or a torrentially rainy one, for that matter).

My only complaint is that with summer slipping by its usual breakneck pace, it won't be long before peach season is done for another year. All the more reason to eat so many that I'm sick of them by then!

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Grilled Peach Lassi

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• Author: Isabelle Boucher
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x

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Description

Grilling peaches adds an extra layer of flavour to this refreshing summertime drink. I like to make mine extra-tangy by using both yogurt and kefir, but you can use milk instead of the kefir for a less tangy variation.

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Ingredients

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• 2 large peaches, halved and pitted
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup plain kefir (or milk)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom

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Instructions

1. Preheat a lightly-oiled grill (or a grill pan) over medium-high heat. Once the grill is good and hot, place the peaches cut-side down over direct heat, and cook until you have nicely charred grill marks (about 2-3 minutes). Allow to cool to room temperature, then roughly chop.
2. Using a high-powered blender, puree the peaches together with the yogurt, milk, maple syrup and cardamom until smooth and well-combined.
3. Drink immediately, or transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

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It's National Eat a Peach Day! I'm joining up with some of my favourite bloggers with 23 peachy-keen recipes to celebrate.