Flavor goes BOOM!

13 easy midsummer combinations that will create fireworks

Summer always brings an explosion of flavors to the table – but there are fireworks and then there are fyah-works. If you want to put on a holiday spread that impresses, try these easy-but-unexpected combinations that bring together fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, cheese and spices. Some are breathtakingly simple; others might take a single specialty shopping trip — but not one of them requires you to turn on an oven or a burner. Pair these summer delights with grilled and chilled meat or vegan options at your next concert picnic or lakeside dinner.

Fruits

1. Strawberries and black pepper. Counterintuitive, you say? Not so. Fresh, farmers-market strawberries become incandescent when sprinkled with the merest dusting of finely (but freshly) ground black pepper. Store-bought berries actually become edible. Back way off on how much you sugar the berries (a tablespoon per pint maximum) and add a pinch of the black stuff. Let it sit in the refrigerator for a day; then spoon over shortcake, crumbled shortbread cookies, or thick Greek yogurt. 2. Pears and balsamic vinegar. We like

crisp Bosc pears and Cara Cara Orange and Vanilla White Balsamic from Rocky Mountain Olive Oil company, but any sweet white balsamic will do. Sliver the pears and drizzle the balsamic across them, along with some toasted walnut halves, or chop them on top of a salad and mix the balsamic with a light oil in a dressing.

3. Cherries, neufchatel cheese, Mexican cocoa powder. Cherries and chocolate are a classic, but the Mexican cocoa powder contains cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. Pit and halve the fresh cherries; roll little balls of neufchatel and sprinkle with the cocoa powder. Or chop the cherries to yield a half cup to a cup and mix with 8 ounces of Neufchatel, 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Serve on a neutral cracker or thin chocolate cookie. (This combination had close competition from the cherries-neufchatelsmoked paprika trio).

4. Watermelon, fennel fronds, lemon juice. Cut a beautifully ripe melon into chunks and dress with a little bit of lemon juice (about a teaspoon per cup of melon). What, you’ve had that melon in the fridge for a while and it’s breaking down into juicy, sweet, melony liquid? Take it the rest of the way and add some elderflower liqueur or syrup. The resulting cocktail or mocktail will draw raves, we promise. Or go the crazy gourmet route and make a granita. Hey, you be You.

5. Apricots, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, baby spinach, slivered almonds, brie. This variation on the flavor theme above had tasters moaning in the kitchen. The vinegar in question was also from Rocky Mountain Olive Oil company; this time we chose their syrup-like plain vanilla (dark) balsamic. Buy the President brie that comes in a log, and you can cut thin rounds or make a spinach salad and garnish it with brie half-rounds and slivered almonds. Pair with cold roast chicken, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and, boom, that’s dinner.

Veggies

6. Spring turnips, white miso and cumin. Because of this year’s cool-ish spring — or smart farmers planting them in cool locations — these pure white beauties are just showing up in farmer’s markets now. Milder than a radish and grown to be eaten raw, they’re a great addition to salads made with spicy Asian greens. But what else can you do with them? A dab of white miso paste, a tiny sprinkle of ground cumin. Garnish with a cilantro leaf or chive flower. Canape!

7. Jicama, white cheddar, bread-and-butter pickle. Oh, go ahead and use the zesty breadand-butter pickles, or opt for a chipotle cheddar. You know you want to.

8. Arugula and tuna. It really doesn’t matter whether your budget runs to sushi-grade ahi or Chicken of the Sea; tuna loves arugula. (There’s even a variety of arugula called “Wasabi” and, yes, it tastes like the real deal.) All varieties of arugula are stupid-easy to grow in Colorado – in fact, once you’ve planted it, it happily self-seeds everywhere. The white or yellow flowers are also edible – a tad spicy like the leaves, but also sweet and a tad nutty. Stuff a pita with arugula leaves and tuna salad or slide some arugula under your grilled

Drizzle Bosc pears with orange-vanilla white balsamic vinegar to make an elegant, easy dessert.

Farmers market strawberries become astonishingly sweet if a tiny pinch of ground black pepper joins the party.

Apricots, brie, balsamic, vinegar, black pepper: You won’t see this combination on the buffet already.

Photos by Susan Clotfelter, Special to The Denver Post Combine sweet Western Slope cherries with neufchatel and Mexican cocoa powder — plus a pinch of salt.

12. Adzuki beans and Italian parsley. The heck with garbanzo