Giada De Laurentiis Grills Pineapple for an ‘Explosion of Fresh Summer Flavor’

TL; DR: 

• Giada De Laurentiis grills pineapple slices for an “explosion of fresh summer flavor.”
• She serves the pineapple with Nutella, dollops of mascarpone cheese, and toasted hazelnuts. 
• It’s a “fresh and unexpected combination of flavors that taste amazing together,” according to the Food Network star.  

Giada De Laurentiis’ grilled pineapple is an easy summer dessert. In just over 20 minutes, she has golden brown, caramelized pineapple and a chocolatey topping complete with roasted hazelnuts and mascarpone. De Laurentiis admits while it may be an “unexpected combination,” the flavors “taste amazing together.” 

Giada De Laurentiis’ grilled pineapple recipe combines what she and her mom love

De Laurentiis shared how she came up with her recipe for grilled pineapple in Everyday Italian’s “Casual Dinner Party” episode.

“My mom loves to grill fruit, and in the summertime, she adores grilled pineapple,” De Laurentiis said. “And I love chocolate. So I’ve come up with a recipe that brings and combines the two together.” 

De Laurentiis wasn’t kidding when she said she loves chocolate. Every year, she celebrates her birthday with an Ina Garten chocolate cake. The cookbook author’s also been known to keep chocolate chips and chocolate ice cream in her freezer.

So it makes sense she’d combine chocolate with pineapple for a fun twist. “This is a fresh and unexpected combination of flavors that taste amazing together,” De Laurentiis said of the recipe on Giadzy. “Dollops of vanilla mascarpone, chocolate hazelnut spread and caramelized pineapple is an explosion of fresh summer flavor — and the hazelnuts add a perfect bit of crunch throughout.”

How to make Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for Grilled Pineapple with Nutella

De Laurentiis’ grilled pineapple is a relatively quick dessert. According to Food Network, she grills the pineapple and prepares the sauce all in 22 minutes. 

To start, De Laurentiis slices a pineapple into rings. Then, when the grill is hot (she uses an indoor grill pan), she drizzles it with olive oil to prevent sticking. 

Next, she puts the pineapple on the grill and lets them do their thing. Why? Because, as she explained, “the trick to getting really nice grill marks is to leave your pineapples alone for a couple of minutes.”

Meanwhile, she makes the chocolate topping. The Eat Better, Feel Better author combines Nutella with heavy cream. Then she heats it up in the microwave and stirs it all together. Then, for the mascarpone cheese component, she adds a splash of vanilla extract for sweetness.

When the pineapples are done grilling, De Laurentiis transfers them to a platter and adds the toppings. After a sprinkling of roasted hazelnuts, which gives “just a little bit of crunch in every bite,” the summer dessert’s ready to serve.

How to cut a pineapple, according to the Food Network star

What about cutting a pineapple or picking a ripe one from the store? De Laurentiis shared her tips as she prepared the dish. 

“When you’re buying a pineapple, you want it to be slightly soft to the touch,” she said, adding that “you want a nice yellow color.” De Laurentiis, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu, also said it should smell ripe. 

As for the leaves, “you want them to be crisp and green, not yellow with, like, brown tips,” she explained. “That’s when you know it’s fresh.” 

Now for cutting a whole pineapple. De Laurentiis slices the top, bottom, and sides with a sharp knife. “Make sure you get rid of all the green skin and all the little brown holes,” she said as she sliced. 

As for the core, De Laurentiis uses a round cookie cutter to remove it. “Put it in the center and it comes right out,” she said.