Good grapes

Grapes just seem to be the perfect candy of fruits. They are sweet, a tiny bit tart, and easy to eat out of hand. They come just in the nick of time, when summer fruits are disappearing from the market, grapes step up alongside apples and pears. Fall fruits are just heavenly, crisp, cool, and refreshing.

I think grapes are underappreciated as an ingredient. While we’re used to eating them as a snack or occasionally adding them to a salad, we forget they can be baked, cooked, roasted, grilled, and pickled. Their sweetness adds oomph to savory recipes and balances spices and herbs.

Grape season is usually from the end of August through October with some stragglers in November. Experiment with different flavors and combinations and add good grapes to your next fall recipe.

Chicken Schnitzel with Fig and Grape Agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Sauce)

Serves 4

This ruby colored, palate awakening condiment proves that grapes are much more than an eating out-of-hand snack. Gently warmed and ladled over a crispy chicken schnitzel, this flavor combination of sweet grapes, a pinch of heat, aromatic herbs, and puckering vinegar is a balancing act of fall flavors.

I am excited to serve this with a turkey schnitzel or just leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Heck…I can see lacquering the whole bird with this sauce. Whisk this sauce with a little extra virgin olive oil or complex walnut oil for a tart and addicting vinaigrette and drizzle it over kale and cabbage slaw topped with toasted almonds or walnuts.

Extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, halved

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Several sprigs fresh thyme

Pinch of crushed red chilies

8 ounces fresh figs, sliced in half

2 cups red grapes, sliced in half

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1. Heat a medium saucepan. Lightly coated with olive oil, over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and crushed chilies. Sweat mixture until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
2. Add figs, grapes, balsamic, and honey, and increase heat to medium high. Simmer, stirring frequently until grapes and figs are soft and mixture has thickened, about 8-10 minutes. The sauce will have beautiful chunks of grapes and figs. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove rosemary and thyme stems and discard.
3. Cool completely before storing, covered, in fridge for 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months.

For the schnitzel

Extra virgin olive oil

2 cups panko (unseasoned) breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

2 egg whites, whisked (egg whites make food crispy–save the yolks for challah!)

4 chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness

1. Place a cooling rack over a sheet pan covered with parchment. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat a large sauté pan, with about ½ inch of extra virgin olive oil, over medium heat.
3. Whisk together panko, salt, pepper, lemon zest, rosemary, and parsley.
4. Place egg whites in a bowl.
5. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Dip chicken breast in egg white, then coat in panko mixture and brown in heated pan. Gently turn chicken over and brown the other side. Transfer chicken to cooling rack. Continue with remaining chicken.
6. Cook chicken for 7-10 minutes in pre-heated oven. Serve with warmed Fig and Grape Agrodolce.

Fontina and Grape Flatbread

Serves 4-5 as an entrée or 8 as an appetizer

Salty cheese and sweet grapes are a delicious tug-of-war on crusty flatbread. Very sophisticated bites for a fall gathering or evening in the sukkah.

For the garlic oil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1. Mix together and allow flavors to mingle while you prepare the dough
   

For the dough

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1/2 cup tepid water

pinch of sugar

3 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat or rye flour (rye flour adds complexity to the crust)

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup cold water

For the topping

2 cups grated fontina cheese

3 cups sliced red grapes

2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

1. To make the dough, make a sponge by mixing yeast, 1/2 cup water, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and whole wheat or rye flour, and let stand 30 minutes undisturbed, until the surface is bubbly and resembles a sponge.
2. Mix in salt, flour, olive oil, and 3/4 cup water. Knead for five minutes with dough hook attachment, or by hand, until a smooth, but slightly sticky ball of dough is formed. If it seems too wet, knead a bit more flour into it, if necessary.
   

3. Oil a large bowl and put the ball of dough into the bowl, then flip it over, so the oiled side it up. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place until doubles in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (After the dough has risen, you can punch it down and refrigerate it for a few hours, or overnight. Let come to room temperature before continuing.)
4. Preheat oven to 500F.
5. Sprinkle cornmeal over an 11 x 17-inch baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. Roll dough on a lightly floured countertop to approximately the size of the baking sheet. If dough pulls back, let it rest a few minutes before continuing. Then lift dough and stretch it out, and place dough on baking sheet, fitting it to the edges.
6. Brush crust with garlic oil and top with fontina cheese. Sprinkle grapes over the top and sprinkle with rosemary.
7. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Pickled Grapes

Palate awakening over a salad, cozied up to sliced cheese, chopped up with goat or feta cheese and served over crackers, served on a charcuterie platter, pickled grapes are a quick and easy condiment.

1 pound red or green grapes

2 shallots, sliced

1 dozen or so garlic cloves

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 star anise

Pinch of black peppercorns

1 cinnamon stick

1. Place grapes, shallots, and garlic in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Heat vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, star anise, black peppercorns, and cinnamon stick to a simmer. Increase heat and stir until sugar dissolves and the mixture boils.
3. Pour hot vinegar over grape mixture. Allow to cool briefly before covering and refrigerating. Allow to sit overnight before using. pickled grapes, shallots and garlic can be stored for up to 1-2 months.

Laura Frankel is a noted kosher chef, a cookbook author, and Culinary Director for a media company. Currently, she serves as Director of Catering at Circle of Life catering at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El.