Photo: Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post
This luscious grilled pineapple dessert is packed with island flavor and satisfies a sweet tooth healthfully. Grilling rings of pineapple caramelizes the fruit’s natural sugars and creates appealing grill marks. The dessert gets another dimension of Caribbean flair with a sprinkle of warm, aromatic allspice, and it’s topped off with a luscious coconut whipped cream.
The coconut whipped cream isn’t necessarily better for you than regular whipped cream. But a little goes a long way, it keeps the dish vegan-friendly and it has such an intense, craveable coconut flavor that it makes you see palm trees.
The pineapple also can be cooked on an outdoor grill. (Remember to brush the grates with oil.) If you have a pineapple corer, use it to remove the core before you cut the pineapple into rings.
Make Ahead: The can of coconut milk needs to be refrigerated for at least 5 hours and up to 1 day in advance. You’ll have whipped coconut cream left over; it can be refrigerated for at least 1 month. Ellie Krieger likes to refrigerate the beaters she uses for the coconut whipped cream; you can chill them along with the canned coconut milk.
Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Whipped Cream
Ingredients
One 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 fresh whole pineapple
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Oil, for the grill pan
2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves (whole or chopped), for garnish
Directions
Place the can of coconut milk into the refrigerator and chill for at least 5 hours and up to 1 day.
Remove it from the refrigerator without shaking it or moving it too much. Skim solid “cream” off of the top of the milk, placing it into a large bowl. Do not include any of the liquid from the can. Reserve that for another use, such as for a smoothie. You should wind up with about ¾ cup solid coconut cream.
Add the sugar to the bowl with the coconut cream then, using a hand mixer, whip until glossy and tracks form from the beaters. Refrigerate until ready to use. You should wind up with about 1 cup of whipped cream. You will only need a small amount for this recipe but the rest will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least a month.
Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, peel it, and cut it crosswise into 8 rounds, about ½ inch each. Use a spoon or apple corer to carve out the center core of each round to create rings. Sprinkle the pineapple with the allspice.
Brush a large grill pan or outdoor grill with oil and pre-heat it over medium. Grill the pineapple rings, in two or three batches, until nicely browned and grill marks have appeared, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
To serve, place 2 pineapple rings on each serving dish. Top each with a small dollop (2 teaspoons) of the coconut whipped cream, and garnish with mint.
Makes 4 Servings
Serving size 2 pineapple rings and 2 teaspoons of coconut whipped cream
Per serving: 90 calories, 0 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber
Copyright 2016 Ellie Krieger All rights reserved
