Grilled Peach, Onion and Bacon Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it.  Local peaches are everywhere now and are my favorite seasonal fruit.  I hadn't seen any really great peaches so far though, but I finally found some that would work and they tasted amazing.

They weren't too ripe - as in mushy and I decided to toss them with olive oil before I put them on the grill.  The peaches and the grill was what I worried most about in this recipe - that they'd stick and fall apart.  I had some applewood smoked ham in the fridge so used this instead of the bacon.  Also, I had some blueberry goat cheese so thought that would be a nice addition to the dressing.  My list/changes to the ingredients are below:

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise 
• 1/4 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup 1% fat buttermilk 
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint 
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives (I used extra for garnish)
• Diamond Crystal Kosher
• Freshly ground pepper 
• 1 pound thick-sliced alderwood smoked ham
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar 
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 3 pounds Walla Walla sweet onions, cut into 1-inch-thick slabs 
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing 
• 4 large organic ripe peaches, cut into 1/2-inch wedges 
• 2 slices off a round of blueberry goat cheese, small dice 

I preheated my oven to 350°F and sliced the ham into strips that looked like bacon.  I used 5 pieces.  I laid a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and sprayed it with "Pam".

I put the ham down and sprinkled with the brown sugar and cayenne on both sides.  This went in for about 30 minutes.  It smelled heavenly as it came out of the oven.  It looked pretty good too.  It tasted even better, wonderful smokey heat with just a touch of sweetness.  Perfect.

I sliced it into bite size pieces after it cooled.  I made the dressing next.  I am a huge fan of buttermilk dressings.  The first 9 ingredients went in and it tasted divine.

Adding the small amount of goat cheese took it over the top and gave it some nice purple swirls in it.  Yum.  I covered and put it in the fridge.  I cut the onions in 1 inch rounds and oiled each side.  I pre-heated the grill on a medium-low heat and put them on when hot.  I tried to be patient and not move them.  I flipped after 15 minutes and then left them for another 15.  

I removed each set of rings and cut it in quarters and moved it to bowl.  I seasoned with some S&P.   I added in the ham and stirred again.  Then I covered and set aside until I was ready to do the peaches.

I washed the peaches and cut them in half and removed the pit out.  Then I sliced them into pieces of 6 or 8 depending on the peach size.  I tossed them in olive oil and then put them to the grill.  I flipped after a few minutes, I didn't want them to cook too long, just wanted to get grill marks, which didn't happen easily because of the liquid that drained out of the fruit.  I gave up and took them off when they were warmed through.

I took them off and threw them into the bowl and tossed.  I plated.  I drizzled some dressing over and then garnished with chives.

I thought this was quite yummy.  A lot of liquid exuded from the peaches and it really made it's own dressing.  The buttermilk mixture was cool though and contrasted nicely with the warm salad.  It also offered a different flavor profile.  All in all, it made the peach lover in me very happy.