Grilled stone fruits with rosemary & rose syrup

Ingredients

• 4 peaches and/or nectarines
• 6 loquats and/or apricots
• 8 small plums
• 20-24 cherries
• A few sprigs of rosemary

For the syrup

• 70g sugar
• Petals from 2 organic roses (or 1 tbsp rose water)
• 2 thin slices of lemon

Method

You can either place all the fruit on the grill in one go, turning occasionally, and take them off as they cook, or start with the peaches as they will need the longest (about 6-8 mins), then add the apricots (5-6 mins), then the plums (about 2-3 mins) and finally the cherries for just a minute to loosen their flavour and juices. Add the whole sprigs of rosemary to the grill for a few secs to enliven the oils and then put the grilled fruit and rosemary in a serving bowl.

Mix the sugar with 50ml water, rose petals and lemon slices in a small saucepan and bring to a boil on the side of the grill. Allow to cook for 3 mins, then carefully pour over the fruit.

Image: Patricia Niven

Recipe from Chasing Smoke: Cooking over Fire Around the Levant (Pavilion Books)