Peaches. Lentils. Jalapeño olive oil. Gorgonzola cheese. This whole recipe is a lot of clearing the refrigerator and cabinets out for the move next week. And I was pretty happy to see a peach salad recipe on Sprouted Kitchen which inspired me to put a few things together. I haven't prepared green lentils since Green Lentils with Spices and Yogurt some time ago, and was glad to see it in her recipe, I really like Sara's style of cooking and flavoring, and it also gave me a push to use up some jalapeño olive oil. Her recipe has a different dressing with fresh jalapeños, so I just switched up a few things so I could use the oil.

I grilled the peaches in a grill pan on the stove because we don't have an outdoor grill, but that's about to change once we move, we will be able to have a grill on the patio! This is a huge plus for Jeff and I. We've wanted one for so long. In the coming weeks I'll try to get some grill recipes happening before the winter sets in. If you rent you're probably familiar with "can we have a pet?" no. "can we have a grill on this incredibly large patio?" no. Well, we're still going to be renting, but yes to both! And we haven't quite figured out whether we'll get a cat or dog, but we'll know when we're there.

Photo notes: I used a Macro 105mm for this shoot, I've been using the 50mm lens so much lately I was really hankering for this lens. With the 105mm I really need to get some distance to get the whole plate in the picture, but it's great to have some close-up shots and I've missed that with the 50mm.

Grilled Peach Salad with Lentils
(semi-adapted from Sprouted Kitchen)

1 large peach, cut into 8 pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cooked lentils
5 cups baby spinach (or greens you prefer)
1 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese

Jalapeño Dressing

1/4 cup Jalapeño olive oil*
1/8 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

To make the lentils, Rinse 1/2 cup dry lentils and place in pot with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to boil and reduce heat, simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

To make the peaches, preheat grill pan, place cut peaches in bowl, add olive oil and toss until well covered. Place peaches on grill pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side, they should be soft but still a bit firm. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

To make the dressing whisk together vinegar and oils (adding oil slowly to vinegar) until well combined.

In large bowl combine spinach, lentils and dressing, for each plate top with avocado, grilled peaches and cheese.

*If you don't have Jalapeño olive oil handy you can make your own here. Or you could go to the Sprouted Kitchen recipe and try out the jalapeño vinaigrette. In any case this stuff can be really really hot, so adjust amounts to your liking, I had to add some extra olive oil to neutralize the flavor, and I love hot and spicy flavors.