Johnny Earles' Grilled Fruit With Ginger Syrup

A while back, Rachelle and I raved about the grilled fruit we"d greedily devoured at the Eater barbeque. I"d long since forgotten when I stumbled upon this recipe on Mark Bittman"s blog Bitten, in which the fruit is skewered and brushed with a ginger syrup. Soon enough, recipes such as this will be out-of-season, so enjoy them now!

Skewered Grilled Fruit With Ginger Syrup Adapted from Johnny Earles

Mr. Earles recommends gas -- or clean wood charcoal -- for grilling fruit. ""Real wood just overwhelms the fruit with flavor,"" he said. ""And briquettes impart a weird taste."" Whatever your fuel, make the fire hot and keep the grilling time short.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger (don

4 unpeeled bananas (not overripe)

1 small pineapple

1 starfruit (carambola), optional.

Method 1. Heat a gas or charcoal fire; it should be quite hot, with the rack positioned 4 to 6 inches from the source of heat. 2. Combine the sugar, fresh ginger and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let sit while preparing the fruit. (Refrigerate if you"re not using this right away; it will keep for at least a week.) 3. Cut the unpeeled bananas into 2-inch-long chunks, and make a shallow vertical slit in the skin for peeling at the table. Peel and core the pineapple, then cut it into 2-inch chunks. If you"re using starfruit, cut it into slices 1/2 inch thick. 4. Skewer the fruit. Strain the syrup, and brush it on the fruit lightly. Grill the fruit until the pineapple is nicely browned, 2 to 4 minutes to a side. While it is grilling, brush it occasionally with the syrup. 5. When the fruit is done, brush once more with syrup. Serve hot or warm.

[Image via Pinch My Salt]