When is a Grape a Raisin?

There are times when going out to eat can inspire great cooking at home. I went out for tapas with some friends recently. We had plates of serrano ham, thick fried potatoes with a garlicky aioli, roasted baby brussels sprouts swimming in earthy olive oil, and chewy baguettes filled with spicy tuna, and hard-cooked egg. What can I say, we feasted.

We also had a plate of roasted grapes. A fruity side dish that was definitely not my favorite dish of the evening, and I will tell you why. They were beautiful and plump, wrinkled slightly like a sigh, sitting tightly in clusters-- these grapes were begging me to try them. So I did, plucking one from the bunch. And you know what? They were cold! I'm not talking slightly cool, these grapes had been sitting in the fridge for hours. Now I beg the question, if one goes through all of the trouble to roast a bunch of grapes to wrinkled perfection, wouldn't you serve them at least slightly warm?

I am a bit finicky. I will admit to preferring my fruit unchilled. A cold apple hurts my teeth, and a melon when set to languish in the fridge, loses its summertime perfume. Having a piece of fruit that is cold is like putting a juicy snack on mute. I was irked, not enough to abandon my glass of Rioja, nor enough to decline ordering the churros (with a velvety chocolate dipping sauce) but irked none the less.

But from dissatisfaction comes resolve. I did not forget those grapes, I wanted to try them again-- this time unchilled. So I purchased a bunch, doused them in olive oil, gave them a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and then roasted them in a hot oven (450 degrees) for 15-20 minutes. They were delightfully dessicated, like a raisin but better. Withered and juicy they popped in your mouth. I continued my savory experiment by using my new grape/raisins in a winter salad.

Fried capers, curls of Parmesan cheese, torn and toasted bits of bread were nestled cozily in a bed of sprightly arugula and topped with roasted grapes. It was the perfect mix of salty and sweet. And the grapes were just as I wanted them to be-- wrinkled and warm.