Rosemary Grilled Fruit and Angel Food Cake
Serves 6
Toward the end of the summer when rosemary, sage, oregano, and lavender have grown long and woody, the stems are perfect for kebab skewers. Lemongrass, whittled licorice root, and grape root can also be threaded with strips of meat and chunks of vegetables or even, as in this case, cake and fruit.
• Six 12-inch rosemary stems
• 1 cantaloupe or honeydew melon
• Half an angel food cake
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
1. Strip the leaves from rosemary stems and set them aside for use in the sauce (recipe follows).
2. Soak the stems in water for 1 hour or longer. Cut the melon in half and discard the seeds.
3. Cut the melon and angel food cake into 1-inch pieces. Pat the soaked rosemary stems dry and rub them with olive oil.
4. Thread the cake pieces on two skewers and the melon pieces on the remaining skewers.
5. Grill the fruit kebabs for 2 to 3 minutes on each side and the cake kebabs for 1 to 2 minutes, until lightly browned.
6. Remove from the skewers and serve warm with Rosemary Sauce (recipe follows).
Rosemary Sauce
Makes 1/2 cup
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup apricot or peach preserves
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• Pinch ground nutmeg
1. In small saucepan, heat the butter; stir in the preserves, orange juice, lemon juice, rosemary, and nutmeg.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
3. Serve with Rosemary Grilled Fruit and Angel Food Cake.
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Pat Crocker, home economist and culinary herbalist, photographs, lectures, and writes about food and herbs. Author of three cookbooks, including The Healing Herbs Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1999) and The Juicing Bible (Robert Rose, 2000), Pat enjoys grilling with her family every summer.
