Prosciutto-Wrapped Stone Fruit

Summer is known for its stone fruit, and this beautiful bounty is in high demand. If you desire peaches, plums, and nectarines, patience must be practiced because these fruits don't make their seasonal debut until July and August, and even into September. However, after taking one bite of any of these marvelous fruits, waiting for them is worth it. Totally worth it.

Stone fruits are called that because of their hard pits. Though they're fruits, they're actually closely related to the rose and almond family. Who knew, right?

When it comes to making the most of stone fruit, I like to enjoy as many as possible. Peaches are very versatile; I can use them in a wide variety of sweet and savory recipes such as peach shortcakes or burrata appetizers. If you prefer your stone fruit to be fuzz-free, go with peaches' cousin, the nectarine, which has a more aromatic flavor. Finally, plums. They're wonderfully sweet and tender, and are also one of my favorite fruits to cook with.

Now, the best way to enjoy these sweet, juicy fruits is by simply sinking your teeth into them. However, if you want a fun and simple way of serving them, then whip up a quick appetizer that pairs the fruits' sweetness with salty prosciutto and savory ricotta cheese.

Prosciutto, an Italian dry-cured ham, is more known for its classic pairing with cantaloupe, but goes great with stone fruit, too. I chose this cured meat because it's sliced very thinly, which makes it very malleable and easy to wrap around the fruit. To balance the flavors, I added whole milk ricotta for a creamy textural interplay. If you can't find ricotta, cream cheese or goat cheese are excellent substitutes.

You could eat these prosciutto fruit slices as a snack, but I also like to add them to a fruit charcuterie board if I'm having guests over. For an impressive presentation, arrange the slices on the board, then add a few extra slices of fruit, fresh herbs, and nuts to fill out the space. The final step is to pair them with your favorite wine and dig in!