Oven Roasted Grapes and Goat Cheese Crostini

GUEST POST FROM FOOD EDITOR D’NESE MILLER

This dish is sweet and oh so delicious. Perfect for holiday entertaining. It’s a super quick platter to put together. You won’t regret it. The crispy bread lathered with goat cheese and roasted grapes that burst open when you bite into them render the most fantastic taste.

I started with buying a loaf of french bread that required 12 mins in the oven to bake. You can easily pick up a fresh loaf from the bakery and have them slice it for you. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Thoroughly clean and wash your seedless grapes. Pat them dry so the seasonings and oil adhere well to them. You’ll want to keep the grapes on their stem. Drizzle olive oil, balsamic vinegar all over your grapes. I used a thicker balsamic glaze, but any balsamic will work. Sprinkle sea salt all over your grapes. Youll want to place these directly onto the baking sheet. This will allow for the “charred look” on your grapes when the cooking is complete.

Place your pan into the oven and cook for 30 mins. Shake the pan ever 5-10 mins and try to also flip your grapes over at the 15 min mark to get the even char. If after 30 mins the grapes dont look how you want, turn the oven off and keep them inside with the oven door closed. Just keep an eye on them.

Get your bread all sliced up and prepared. You’ll want the bread toasted. So you can do this by placing in your oven under your broiler or even in the toaster if the slices fit. Toast until desired crispness. Spread fresh goat cheese all over your toast slices. I was very generous with my goat cheese. The the more the better.

Once your grapes are ready and cooled, cut them at the stems (maybe 3-4 on each stem) and place them on top of the goat cheese. Follow this method until you’ve used up most of your grapes. Reserve some for later.

Once you’ve plated your slices, you’ll want to add chopped pecans and golden raisins. You can do this by simply just dropping them on top of gently placing them on. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay if some make it onto the plate. You want that to happen. After you’ve added the pecans and raisins, you’ll want to drizzle honey all over. I used. raw unfiltered wildflower honey. Once drizzled, add the zest of one orange.

It is at this point that you’ll want to place more pecans, golden raisins and the all around the plate and tucked in between each slice. You also will want to add your reserve roasted grapes stems. I added fresh prosciutto and just rolled them up pretty and placed them all throughout, while placing the reserved grapes on top.

This is fun grab and snack platter. Naturally you don’t want to eat the stems of the grapes, so just pick those off and place the grapes right back on top. Dig into the platter for most pecans, grapes, raisins and some prosciutto. You won’t regret it. It’s totally sweetness overload but OH SO GOOD!

Happy Entertaining.

Ingredient List:

Red seedless grapes (mine was approx 3 pound bag)
Crusty bread loaf
Fresh goat cheese (one whole log)
Prosciutto
Raw and Unfiltered honey
Golden Raisins
Chopped pecans
One orange for zesting