Can you think of a better way to start an evening post-horseback wine tasting than with delicious slices of fresh, bursting peaches? Yeah, me neither, which is why it was the first thing I cooked (yes, cooked peaches) over the campfire the other night once we got back to the posh teepees to settle in for a night of “Glamping”— that is, glamorous camping.

If all this is a little nonsensical to you, let me just explain that we decided to get out of the city a few days ago for some much-needed midweek r&r and figured there was no better place to do it than in Central Washington’s up-and-coming wine country. Specifically, we stayed at the Cherry Wood Bed and Breakfast which offers luxurious accommodations in teepees as well as the opportunity to do your wine tasting on horseback. There is nothing like sidling up to a tasting room on a saddle, and riding amongst the vines was an experience unto itself indeed, but in this post I will focus on the peaches, as the recipe warrants it’s own entry.

Right now in the Yakima valley where the fruit ripens in an afternoon and vineyards sprawl from hill to hill, the peaches are so plentiful they’re practically giving them away.  I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying several succulent beauties nearly every day since the season started, and I’m to the point where curious uses of peaches beyond cobbler and cream are starting to intrigue me.  I developed this recipe for Salty Seattle based on that little bit of culinary ecstasy you experience when you bite into something that marries sweet and savory in an unexpectedly decadent way.  These bites of goodness are great crowd pleasers, and while I did mine over a campfire grill, you could just as easily fry them up in a buttered skillet at home, or pop them in the barbecue if it’s easy.

Campfire-Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Peaches

Serves 4 assuming two wedges per person.

• 1 succulent peach sliced into eighths
• 8 paper-thin slices of prosciutto (preferably recently sliced from a reputable deli such as that of Metropolitan Market or De Laurenti
• 8 large mint leaves plus sprigs for garnish
• cooking spray
• 1 crusty baguette from which you will cut 8 ½” slices, so you’ll have some left over
• 8 tbsp fresh Chevre (make sure you buy a nice, spreadable goat cheese such as Rollingstone Chevre)

1. Place a mint leaf on a peach slice and tightly wrap the mint and peach in prosciutto. Repeat for remaining peaches.
2. Heat a grill grate over an applewood campfire.  Spray grate with cooking spray.
3. Simultaneously grill peach slices and baguette slices on the sprayed campfire grill moving with tongs periodically to ensure even cooking and no sticking.  Turn to grill both sides.
4. Remove the baguette slices, slather each with 1 tbsp Chevre, and place the grilled prosciutto peaches on top. Garnish with an additional mint sprig and serve immediately. Enjoy.