Farm Market Recipe for May 2017 - Life is Bowl of Cherries

In May we start to see the first signs of summer fruit at the farmers’ markets. The first records of cherry trees lead us to believe this fruit originated in Asia Minor near the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Cherries have been consumed since prehistoric times. Among the fruit seeds that were sent in 1628 to the settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts, by the Massachusetts bay Colony were cherry, peach , plum, filbert, apple, quince, and pomegranate and “according to accounts, they sprung up and flourished.”

Ingredients

1/2 pound pizza dough

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1 cup cherries, pitted and halved

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup arugula

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium high heat. While the grill is heating add the balsamic vinegar, honey, and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until it has reduced to about 3 tablespoons and is thick and syrupy. In another small saucepan heat the tablespoon of oil then add in the smashed clove of garlic. Remove the oil from the heat and let the garlic infuse the oil for a few minutes. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface then transfer it to a lightly floured pizza peel, stretching and reshaping it if necessary. Brush the top of the dough with half of the garlic infused oil. Place the crumbled goat cheese and halved cherries on a plate and take them out to the grill with you along with the prepared pizza dough. Oil the grill grates then place the pizza dough oiled side down onto the grill. Brush the top of the pizza dough with the remaining oil. Grill the pizza dough for 2-3 minutes then flip it over to grill the other side. Immediately scatter the goat cheese crumbles and cherries over the top of the pizza. Grill for another 2-3 minutes then remove from the grill. Top with the arugula, balsamic drizzle, and salt and pepper to taste.