Nectarine Carpaccio with Basil

We were paging through a recent Vegetarian Times when this recipe caught our eye. We had received some nectarines in our box and we got a few more at our local farmer's market just because it's that time of year.

I was also able to use some just-picked basil leaves from my backyard in this one.

We were having some friends over and we thought this would make a great appetizer.

It comes from Chef Eric Lechausseur, executive chef of Seed Kitchen in Venice, CA. In the write up, he describes how he likes the mixture of fruit and herb because "the nectarine's acidity combines with the freshness of basil for a wonderful flavor."

The ingredients are pretty simple:

• nectarines
• basil leaves
• lemon
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Here's how it works:

You want to start with nectarines that are neither too ripe or not ripe enough. Place the washed nectarine on a cutting board with the "crease" facing you. That way the pit is lined up to give you the maximum number of slices.

Slice off a bit of the peel from the right side to get the slicing started.

Start cutting thin slices.

When you run into the pit, turn the nectarine around and repeat the above on the other side.

You will have a small leftover section on either side. That's your reward for being the cook.

Arrange overlapping nectarine slices on a platter. In a bowl, combine the juice of half of a juicy lemon, just under 1/3 cup high quality olive oil, a generous dash of salt, and a good amount of cracked black pepper.
Get enough basil leaves for the number of nectarine slices you have. You will actually want small to medium sized leaves. Drizzle the dressing over the nectarine/basil slices

Serve out in the backyard enjoying the long days of June and the beginning of summer. We served it with a Viognier which worked well with this dish. We decided this was a keeper.