Macheesmo

This recipe is cheating. It’s really not fair. Things this good shouldn’t be this easy. To make something this good, you should need like a special kitchen blowtorch or one of those fancy immersion circulator gizmos.

What you shouldn’t be able to do is toss some damn grapes in the oven and make something this good.

This holiday season make room for these bowls (one with the grapes and one with the goat cheese). Then bask in the praise of others as people wonder where you keep your fancy kitchen equipment that makes deliciousness like this possible.

Embarrassingly, it’s one of the best appetizers I’ve posted all year.

Roasted Grapes with Whipped Goat Cheese

by Nick

Serves:

Serves 6-8

Prep Time:

5 mins

Total Time:

1 hr

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Ingredients

1 pound seedless red grapes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

Pinch kosher salt

8 oz. goat cheese

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Honey

Melba toasts for serving

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss grapes with oil, sugar, and salt. Roast in a baking dish for 20-25 minutes until grapes are near bursting.

2) Use a potato masher or large fork to lightly mash grapes. Return to the oven and roast for another 15-20 minutes. Then let cool to room temperature.

3) Meanwhile, use the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or a hand mixer to combine goat cheese and cream. Beat together until light and fluffy on medium speed.

Transfer whipped goat cheese to serving bowl and drizzle with honey.

Serve roasted grapes with goat cheese with melba toasts or crackers.

Roasted Grapes

This is not rocket science. You put the grapes in a hot oven until they are bursting, basically.

But, I do think red grapes work the best and please get seedless.

I think about a pound is a good amount to roast. Just toss them with some olive oil, sugar, and salt and then toss them in a 400 degree F. oven for 20 minutes or so.

When they start to burst, mash them a bit with a potato masher or a large fork. This will squeeze out some of the juice which will thicken as the grapes bake.

Bake the grapes for another 15-20 minutes. There’s no hard and fast time here. The longer you roast them, the more they will break down obviously. Personally, I like having some whole grapes in my final spread so I recommend stopping around 40 minutes or so.

Whipped Goat Cheese

The grapes by themselves are good, but they need something to really round out the flavors. This goat cheese is the perfect addition. It’s tangy and creamy and goes well with the slightly sweet acidic flavor of the grapes.

It couldn’t be easier to make. Just add the goat cheese and cream to a bowl and beat it together with a hand mixer or a paddle attachment of a stand mixer.

The finished spread will have the consistency of creamed butter. Try not to eat it all out of the bowl.

Scoop the goat cheese into a serving bowl and drizzle it with honey.

The grapes can be served room temperature, slightly warm, or cold. So you can definitely make them in advance if that’s easier.

Assemble. Eat. Repeat.

I like to serve these on little melba toasts but any sturdy cracker will work just fine.

Just do yourself a favor and serve these any chance you get this holiday season!