By Pamela Buselich

We love featuring our Snail of Approval recipients’ stories! This one is from Pamela Buselich of ValleyBoy Vineyards, highlighting some beautiful tips and recipes of one of Swan Valley’s historic products, grapes!

This is the best time of the year to buy and eat local, seasonal grapes. Just before Christmas, grapes from Carnarvon start arriving in the supermarkets. The local grapes are ripening in early January, the time for the round-berried red Flame Seedless. By early March, Autumn Crisp are in the shops as well as the large, long-berried Crimson seedless. As producers of grapes in the Swan Valley, we have been delighted this year with our beautiful crop of Pink Diamond seedless, our own variety with its unique flavour – a sweet, tropical fruit taste.

Buying and storing your grapes

Here are a few tips:

1. Learn about the different varieties of grapes and when they are at their peak for eating. The best grapes to buy are those that are freshly picked. Find a good source such as direct from a local grower.
2. Transport your grapes home in a cooler bag so they arrive in tip-top condition. Buying direct from the grower means the grapes should still have their natural bloom. This protects the grapes and gives them a longer storage life in your fridge.
3. Keep the grapes in a sealed container in your fridge and only remove what you want to eat and then wash them. The grapes will last well for a couple of weeks.

Delicious ways of serving grapes

Here are some of my favourite ideas and recipes, apart from simply eating them fresh from the bunch.

Frozen Treats

Take the berries off the bunch and place them in a single layer on a tray and freeze. You can bag them after they are frozen. Children love these!

Grape sorbet

Use some of your frozen berries to make sorbet. Make two batches one with green and one with red grapes to really impress.

Ingredients

3 cups of frozen grapes

A dash of honey

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Instructions

Puree the frozen grapes in a food processor, scraping down the sides.

Add remaining ingredients and continue to puree until smooth.

This sorbet will store well in the freezer in an air tight container and keep its texture and flavour.

My favourite fruit salad

This is a simple medley of different melons (pieces of watermelon, rockmelon and honeydew) with halved fresh grapes. Add a drizzle of honey, some crushed pistachio nuts and serve with vanilla bean yoghurt.

Best ever green salads

Fennel and grape salad

Ingredients

Instructions

Mix the ingredients and dress with a wholegrain mustard, lemon and olive oil dressing  (I add a finely chopped or grated spring onion).

Rocket and grape salad

Ingredients

250g red seedless grapes

1 large pink lady apple thinly sliced

Rocket or a mix of peppery greens

A handful of roasted walnuts

½ red onion thinly sliced

Shavings of Grana Padano cheese (this is milder than parmesan)

Instructions

Mix the ingredients and dress with a wholegrain mustard, lemon and olive oil dressing.

Chicken with roasted grapes and red wine

This is a truly decadent dish that is so simple to prepare.

Ingredients

2 red onions

350g large seedless grapes cut into small bunches

¼ cup pf balsamic vinegar

4 rosemary sprigs

2 tablespoon olive oil

8 chicken thigh cutlets (with skin on and bone in)

200 ml light red wine (pinot noir or merlot)

2 fresh bay leaves

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Scatter onion wedges and bunches of grapes in a lightly oiled roasting pan, toss with balsamic vinegar, rosemary sprigs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until onions and grapes have wilted.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a heavy-based fry pan and brown chicken skin side down first until golden brown.

Add chicken, skin side up, to the roasting pan with the onions and grapes. Add the red wine and bay leaves and roast for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with potato mash – I add some roasted garlic.