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Grill Up Some Vegetarian Favorites With Recipes From Crossroads

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — July is National Grilling Month! Chef Scot Jones and vegan baker Serafina Magnussen of Crossroads visited KCAL9 Tuesday to showcase some of the restaurant's grilled vegetarian offerings.

Jones and Magnussen showed viewers how to create marinated balsamic peaches and a watermelon salad.

Crossroads, which opened earlier this year on Melrose Avenue, offers inventive small plates, including: kale spanakopita, artichoke oysters, spiced chickpeas, and the comfort classic scaloppini with marsala-glazed morels.

You can make the following recipes at home:

Grilled Spiced Balsamic Peaches (Serves 6)

Ingredients for Marinade & Sauce:

4 slightly underripe fresh peaches, sliced in 1/2 and pits removed

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup water

fresh juice and zest of one lime

1/2 cup cane sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon or 3" stick

1 small bunch fresh basil, plus a few extra leaves for garnish

generous pinch of cayenne pepper - or more/less depending on how spicy you like it generous pinch of black pepper

Directions:

For the marinade:

Place all the ingredients except the peaches and basil in a small sauce pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to make sure all the sugar dissolves.

Once simmering, turn off heat and drop in the bunch of basil in to steep.

Once the basil has wilted (approx. 10-15 minutes), remove from the liquid - squeezing well to extract all the flavor from the leaves.

Cool to room temperature.

Place the peaches in a wide, shallow dish cut side down and cover with the marinade.

Let the peaches sit for at least 30 minutes, but best if you can leave them soaking for at least an hour.

When the peaches are ready, remove from the liquid and set on a platter or tray and set aside.

Strain the marinade and put in a small sauce pot, then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half.

While sauce is reducing, preheat the grill.

Over high heat, grill peaches cut side down until nice and caramelized. Using a flat, metal spatula (and a pair of tongs are helpful), flip the peaches onto their skins and cook until they color and they can be pierced easily by a fork.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mince the basil leaves.

Serve peaches, warm, cool or room temperature as you like, drizzled with the sauce and sprinkle fresh basil on top.

Spiff it up by adding ice cream, whipped cream, yogurt if desired.

Grilled Watermelon Salad (Serves 6)

Ingredients for the Marinade:

1/2 of a seedless watermelon, cut into 2" wedges leaving the rind on

1  cup extra virgin olive oil

2  cups of 12 year aged balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. minced shallots

Ingredients for the Salad:

8 cups of baby arugula

2 cups red onion sliced very thin salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Jalapeño Dressing:

1  whole jalapeño, sliced and seeds removed

2  cups Vegenaise

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. shallots, minced 2 Tbs. fresh basil, minced

Method:

For the marinade:

Blend the olive oil and vinegar and shallots together in a blender or food processor until emulsified.

Marinate the watermelon wedges in the liquid for 10-15 minutes.

On a preheated hot grill, grill the watermelon for about a minute on each side.

Chill the grilled fruit on a sheet tray in the refrigerator until cold.

For the Dressing:

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and puree until smooth and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble Salad:

Toss the onion and arugula together in a large bowl.

Dress greens with enough dressing to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Plate the salad by mounding the greens in the middle of dish, placing the grilled watermelon along side the salad.

For more information, visit Crossroads Kitchen.

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