Roasted Grape, Date Syrup, and Goat Cheese Crostini
Tu B’Shevat celebrations often feature abundant spreads of fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables. Most often, the seven species of biblical Israel are central to the celebrations and traditionally eaten for the holiday. These seven species include wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.
To celebrate Tu B’Shevat in 2021 when we couldn’t be together in person, we put on a seven species grazing board workshop! It’s the perfect treat for daylong noshing in your own home! In this workshop, we taught everyone how to make three dishes that included each of the seven species. We made herbed barley salad with feta & pomegranate olive, fig & olive tapenade, and this roasted grape and goat cheese crostini.
We hope this recipe provides you with inspiration for your own grazing board!
Ingredients
1 lb (about 2.5 cups) seedless red grapes, removed from stems, rinsed with cold water and patted dry
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp date syrup
12 ½ inch thick baguette slices
2 tbsp olive oil
130g (about 1 cup) plain goat cheese
directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the grapes on a large baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and then season with salt and pepper. Put sheet pan on the middle shelf of the oven, and roast grapes for about 25 minutes, until they’re shriveled and soft. Stir the grapes every 10 minutes, drain off and reserve any liquid that has pooled in the pan because this will keep the grapes from properly roasting. In a heatproof bowl or container, mix the roasted grapes with the reserved liquid and date syrup.
Brush each side of the baguette slices with 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until golden and crisp. Let cool.
To assemble the crostini, spread each slice of baguette with about 1 tablespoon of goat cheese and spoon the warm grapes on top. Arrange on a platter and sprinkle the crostini with salt and pepper.
