Oh, summer! While I’m not a fan of the intense heat, I am a very definite fan of the sweet flavors that the heat produces. Peaches are an obvious example of the glories of hot temperatures. Tomatoes are another.

When the mercury rises, I tend to get on caprese sandwich kicks, and I’ve made quite a few already this season. To change things up a bit, I decided to grill some peaches as a substitute for tomatoes. The result was heavenly.

I have a few of notes about this sandwich. One is that I always use a griddle when preparing my bread. Creating a toasted garlic bread brings me back to nights spent at my grandma and grandpa’s house. Grandma would make me garlic bread, toasted face-down on the griddle as a just-before-bed snack. The second is that I mistakenly purchased a tarter sauce jar when I meant to pick up mayonnaise. It was quite the happy accident, as a thin smear of the sauce has brought my sandwiches to a new level of flavor. And of course, if you don’t have a griddle/grill reversible pan, griddle the bread in a regular pan, and if you have a real grill, enjoy the outdoors while cooking those peaches.

Grilled Peach, Basil, and Mozzarella Sandwich

One peach, sliced

Two sprigs lemon basil, leaves removed from stem

sandwich roll

sliced mozzarella

drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar

tarter sauce with jalapeno and horseradish

tsp butter

garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Warm up grill side of grill pan on medium-high heat. Place peach slices on grill. Drizzle with vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper. After two minutes, turn over slices and repeat process. After two more minutes, remove from grill and set on a plate to cool.

Scrub down grill and flip to griddle side. Warm griddle on medium-low heat.

Cut roll in half. Butter each half and dust with garlic powder. Place halves butter-side-down on griddle and heat until golden. Remove from heat.

Spread sauce thinly over each slice of bread. On one half, add the basil leaves and sliced mozzarella. On the other half, add the grilled peaches. Drizzle leftover peach and vinegar liquid that has pooled on the plate over mozzarella. Fold halves together and enjoy with a sparkling moscato.