This dish from Chef Evon Profitt, the director of culinary operations for all of Westside Concepts—which includes The Social on 83rd, Cantina Gueros, Haymaker, NW Coffee, Fire House Event Center, and Westside Catering—is a flatbread with grilled peaches, house-made rosemary paneer cheese, sopressata, fresh mint, and pistachios with a balsamic drizzle.
"I love the use of fresh, locally sourced peaches, and giving people the chance to make an easy, versatile cheese at home with ingredients that many already have in their refrigerators and pantries," Profitt explains. WestsideConcepts.us
Grilled Peach Flatbread with House Made Rosemary Paneer Cheese
Yield: 4 flatbreads
Ingredients:
2 peaches cut into 8 pieces each
12 slices Sopressata or any salami
Fresh mint
1 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup pistachios, chopped
Balsamic reduction
4 baked naan bread
For the Paneer Cheese:
6 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
½ Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
Paneer Cheese is made by curdling milk using an acidic additive such as lemon juice or vinegar. Paneer Cheese does not use any kind of rennet, nor fermentation or aging.
How to make Paneer Cheese:
In a pot, bring 6 cups of whole milk to 200 degrees. Once milk has reached temp., stir in the 2 Tbsp. of vinegar and turn off heat; milk will begin to separate. Allow milk to curd for 5 minutes, strain whey and curds into a cheese cloth-lined colander. Transfer curds to a mixing bowl and add chopped rosemary and 1 tsp. kosher salt, mix ingredients together, reserve the cheesecloth for the next step. Place the curds back into the cheesecloth, pull the corners of the cloth together, ring out excess whey from the curds, and hang for 30 minutes to continue draining. Once the curds have drained, place cheesecloth-wrapped curds back into the colander and place a heavy item on top, in order to press the curds into shape and press more of the whey from the cheese, for 3-4 hours. Use cheese fresh or keep refrigerated up to 4 days.
Flatbread:
Brush olive oil onto both sides of naan flatbread, and place in oven on rack for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, or grill for 2 minutes each side. Grill peach slices for 2 minutes each side, or place in oiled sauté pan till each side begins to caramelize. On a cutting board, lay flatbread down, and place grilled peach slices around flatbread. Take small pieces of Paneer Cheese and place throughout over the peaches. Be creative and find place for the Sopressata or salami of your choice. Garnish with crushed pistachios and torn fresh mint. Cut flatbread, transfer to serving plates, and drizzle with balsamic reduction.