Recipe here. Click on the pretty photos to see them bigger.
This recipe looked delicious when I saw it in the magazine, although it strikes me as a bit strange. I mean, really…something that has to roast for 3 hours for BREAKFAST? Am I supposed to wake up at 3 am? And roasting grapes in the first place strikes me as a bit odd, but the photos were SO pretty and the ingredients are all things that we like, so I wanted to give it a try.
First off, I highly recommend roasting the grapes the day before and storing them in the fridge for the next morning. If you do this, however, you should start before 9:45 so that you don’t have to go to bed and then set an alarm to wake yourself up in the middle of the night to pull them out of the oven. Not that I know that from personal experience, or anything…
So, these were a hit with all of us. The flavor and sweetness of the grapes gets concentrated and they soften a bit, but you still get a little crunchy “bite” from the grapes’ skin. I substituted pecans for the walnuts and used vanilla yogurt instead of the plain because plain yogurt makes Hubby gag because we prefer them. I also forgot to add the mint very intentionally decided against using the mint (even though I remembered to buy it at the store and now will have to use it elsewhere…grr). Oh, well…it will make a nice garnish for tonight’s brown-butter raspberry tart (stay tuned.) This is a very filling breakfast…you really don’t need anything to go with it and BONUS: The grapes smell DELICIOUS as you’re cooking…seriously, you’ll think that there’s a grape jelly factory in your kitchen.
This recipe is strange and a bit time-consuming, but I would make it again. This would be perfect for a festive brunch or when you have out-of-town guests staying with you and you want an impressive breakfast. This would be a VERY easy recipe to double, or even triple, if necessary. This also could serve as a healthy dessert, if you’re so inclined.
***Correction: It just occurred to me that maybe this recipe was actually SUPPOSED to be a dessert? Oh, well…we just had dessert for breakfast. My kids will be thrilled to hear this.
Just checked Cooking Light’s website again and this is, indeed, a dessert. There are even dessert wines listed that are suggested to pair with it. So, my thought is that the serving size is WAY to big for a dessert. If you decide to prepare this recipe that way, I’d cut the serving size down and make 6 desserts out of one batch, instead of 4, but I still say it makes a great breakfast. You could also use the sugar-roasted grapes to top pancakes, waffles or ice cream, etc. Oooh….they would be STELLAR over peanut butter ice cream. Might have to explore that option…