Roasted Grapes

I had the pleasure of being invited to Claudia's house for a meal this past week where she served this delicious soup (with a vegetable stock and topped with the saffron yogurt instead of the egg).

Before the soup, Claudia served a delicious salad of arugula drizzled in walnut oil and topped with a few pinches of good (but not very good) salt, capers, and roasted grapes (the other diners also had Parmigiano Reggiano cheese on their salads).

Roasted grapes? Yes, roasted grapes. I'd never had nor even heard of roasted grapes, but I was certainly eager to try them as Claudia has yet to steer me wrong. Delicious. The roasting (and olive oil) changes the flavor and the texture of the grape so that the result is something sweet and savory at the same time. They made an excellent topping for the salad and are used for accompaniments in other dishes as well. So, how to you roast grapes?

Roasted Grapes
•Seedless grapes (Claudia's were red)--depending on how you want to serve them, you may want to remove them from the stem before cooking (it's easier)
•Olive oil
•Kosher or sea salt

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Put the grapes in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet and spritz with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 15 minutes. If you don't have a oil spritzer, put the grapes in a plastic bag with a couple of teaspoons of oil instead.

As for the salt, I'm not sure exactly what Claudia uses. She keeps her "good" and her "very good" salts in wood salt boxes/cellars and she's mentioned that the good salt was English, I believe. I have a feeling that the very good salt is a Fleur de Sel. I need to check that out.