Over the past few years, I have truly gravitated towards eating seasonal. Which means apart from buying from local farms and small organic co-ops, I also adapt more of a seasonal approach to sourcing an ingredient when its season is coming to a close. I either freeze, bottle or can it to keep it longer in my kitchen. In the past I would buy Australian garlic or grapes during their season here. Once their season finished off, I would often buy garlic and grapes that were imported from Peru and USA. It took a while to form the discipline to only buy local but once I started doing that, I realised the romance and anticipation of eating the freshest produce in season and then getting creative with ways to make it last longer.
Grapes freeze well. I have tried it. If they are firm and fresh when frozen, they will be firm and crunchy when they thaw gently. When grape season wanes off in May, I love to freeze bags of Aussie green and red grapes to use mainly in smoothies and salads when only grapes from USA are available during the cooler months. I will freeze some whole and some after slicing them in half like I have done for this beautiful salad. This salad is a riff off that famous street salad from Bombay. I love that I can use puffed brown rice and pomegranate molasses in this recipe, two ingredients that are beautiful in the complexity of their flavours but hardly ever see the light of the day in my kitchen.
Australian Grapes are generously sponsoring a stunning 28cm marble fruit bowl from Marble Basics worth $235 for my readers. I can imagine this salad being showcased in this white beauty.
To Win this marble bowl,
LEAVE ME A COMMENT BELOW starting with "Pop goes the grape ..." and tell me in about less than 25 words your MOST CREATIVE grape recipe.
Competition open to Australian Residents only. Ends on May 29, 2015. Winner Announced on June 1, 2015.
Good Luck!!
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PUFFED BROWN RICE AND GRAPE SALAD
A surprise pairing of lesser known ingredients creates a fast, textural salad that hits all the right sweet, sour, salty and spicy notes. This salad is perfect as a stand-alone meal on a warm day or a tangy side to a more hearty and warming meal.
Serves –4 to 6
Ingredients
for the salad
3 cups puffed brown rice
1 large red onion, finely diced
1 large cucumber, deseeded and finely diced
1 ½ cups red seedless grapes, halved
1 (240g) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
½ cup toasted peanuts, crushed
a large handful of coriander leaves, chopped
a large handful of mint leaves, chopped
lemon wedges, to serve
for the dressing
juice of 1 ½ large lemons
1 teaspoon rapadura (or brown sugar)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Method
Place ingredients for the dressing in a glass jar. Cover with lid and shake to mix well.
Place all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss gently to mix. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Notes
Mix the dressing with the dry salad ingredients just prior to serving as the puffed rice tends to become soggy after about half an hour of mixing.
White puffed rice can be substituted for brown puffed rice.
Pomegranate molasses can be substituted with a sauce made by boiling, blending and straining dates and tamarind together.
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Note - This recipe was developed for Australian Grapes
Pop goes the grape... Almond and Red Grape Salad, with Pecorino Cheese and a vinegar, grape, shallot, olive oil and black pepper dressing!
Pop goes the grape....My Nonna used to make a beautifully simple Olive oil cake wheich gets beautifully studded with red grapes. I think of her beautiful warm kitchen & her soft papery hands every time I make it. It is a sweet yet understated way to finish the meal.
Pop goes the grape… in a grape strudel! Having grown up in Austria, I do love playing around with the classic sweet strudel variations. Grapes work beautifully as a filling for layers and layers of strudel pastry, in combination with cinnamon, nuts, sugar and lemon zest.
Oh, I also love grape & rosemary focaccia!
Pop goes the grape - in to the hot pot custard to beat the melbourne heat - any time - any day..
Bhel Puri redefined.
Looks lovely, Sneh. Can't wait to taste it!
Pop goes the grape... a white gazpacho with grapes and almonds... One for the summer. Hi Sneh, this salad looks lovely and I LOVE the bowl - would love to add it to my small prop collection (dreaming of yours :))! Sophie
love this!!! looks delicious
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
This salad is so lovely, Sneh! It looks delicious, and now I can't wait to try freezing grapes...
If only I was Australian and could enter this giveaway! Best of luck to all who were able to enter. 🙂
Oh, and gorgeous photos, of course. xx
Pop goes the grape.....my favourite red grape recipe is actually a drink that my mom used to make when grapes come in season in India. She would buy crates of plump, juicy red grapes which would be cleaned and soaked in boiling water which will plump up the grapes even more. After soaking for a while, the grapes will be drained (retaining the water) and pushed out of its skins and returned back to the water along with enough sugar to balance out the tartness. This will then be stored in bottles in the refrigerator and would see us throughout the entire harsh summers of South India. This grape juice is my favourite because you get to taste the whole plump yet softened grapes in the drink.
Pop goes the grape...
on grape and rosemary focaccia.
A delightful salad! So colourful, healthy and delicious.
Cheers,
Rosa
Pop goes the cherry...My favourite is Pork tenderloins with roasted grape sauce! Grape sauce is made with grapes,white wine, shallots, chicken broth, thyme and mustard. Yum!
Pop goes the grape..
..into a smoothie (I know, it sounds unoriginal but the combination is beautiful!) with beetroot, blueberries and ginger. It is seriously incredible and the colour is magnificent (obviously using red grapes).
Also, can't wait to try this creation; it looks divine!
Pop goes the crisp grapes layered with insane amounts of creamy quark cheese and yogurt with buttery Anzac-like crumbs in between.
Pop goes the grape, juices everywhere, roasting alongside brussel sprouts, cauliflower and lovingly coated in five spice and cinnamon with honey and balsamic vinegar.
Pop goes the grape...In whiting Veronique, a white sauce, King George Whiting (from SA waters) and green halved table grapes. Light and luscious especially with South Australian White wine.
Pop goes the grape... I love the tartness of grapes to match earthy vegetable flavours, or other more creamy sweet fruits. Madhur Jaffrey's Thai fruit and veg salad is a good one - grapes add pops of tartness to the salad. Dropped in a sangria is always nice, too...