Roasted red grape vinaigrette
I’ve been buying fresh grapes from the farmers market for weeks and eating them by the handful. While they are quite satisfying fresh, I started thinking about how I could incorporate them into other dishes. Grapes are versatile for cooking and add a natural sweetness that complements many fall ingredients.
I decided to experiment with roasting the grapes. I brushed them with a little olive oil and plopped them in the oven for about an hour. To my delight, the end product came out with a texture and sweetness somewhere between a grape and a raisin. I then blended the roasted grapes and passed them through a fine sieve to get a sweet and aromatic reduction — the base for the roasted grape vinaigrette. I searched my fridge for salad ingredients and came up with a Spanish-style combination of red romaine, roasted red pepper, Manchego cheese, pumpkin seeds, and green olives. I think this would also be good on other fall salads such as the Kale-quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash. Be creative and enjoy this dressing with your favorite fall salads!
Servings: Enough dressing for 3 to 4 side salads
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of Red Flame seedless grapes or other locally available grapes (about one cup, loosely packed)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon shallot, minced
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly toss grapes with one teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven. Process grapes through a food mill or food processor. Then press through a fine sieve into a small mixing bowl (this should yield about 1/8 cup of grape juice). Add a pinch of salt, shallot and balsamic vinegar.
- Let sit for about five minutes and mix in one tablespoon olive oil.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 70
- Total fat: 4.5 g
- Saturated fat: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 75 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 8 g
- Dietary fiber: 0 g
- Total sugars: 6 g
- Protein: 0 g