I was really looking forward to trying to do a few things differently this year with grapes. Our vines were full of flowers a few months ago and were quickly replaced with miniature fruits. I watched them eagerly as they started to grow, but someone, or should I say, something, was also watching them. Sadly, the something, in the form of birds, got to them far too early for me to be able to do anything with them. Thankfully however, a friend had so many, I stole a few bunches, with permission of course! Having already done quite a bit of research looking for ideas, this weeks recipe was one that really caught my eye, and I just had to try it.

The recipe actually calls for seedless grapes, but the variety I had picked had seeds; I decided to go ahead, after all what damage could a few seeds do? I had everything I needed in the pantry cupboard already, so within minutes, the pan was on and the grapes were picked through and prepared in readiness. Served with soft cheese such as goats cheese, Camembert, or Brie, these little pickled jewels, cut through the flavour of the cheese beautifully and it takes minutes to make!

There are many different ingredients you can add to your grape pickle, but as my Rosemary bush has gone a bit wild this year, I decided to make use of it, along with a couple of my favourite spices. It has a short shelf life, so if you fancied making them for a special occasion, make them a week ahead and they will be at their best and ready to use when you need them. You need a wide mouthed jar for this recipe to make it easy to get the grapes in, and out, when you are ready to use them.

Ingredients

250g approximately of grapes, washed and any stalks removed (seedless are recommended)

One cup apple or white wine vinegar

One cup of water

¼ cup brown sugar (I used demerara, but you can use raw sugar)

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds slightly crushed (put in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin, it is quite therapeutic!)

3 star anise

1 bay leaf

A couple of sprigs of fresh Rosemary

Method

Add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a saucepan and bring to the boil. As it starts to boil add the mustard seeds and turn off the heat. Leave it cool for a couple of minutes.

Add your prepared grapes, Rosemary and star anise to the jar.

Carefully pour over the pickling liquid so it covers the fruits and is just below the rim of the jar.

Leave them to cool completely, add the lid and seal it tightly. Leave in a dark cupboard for 4 days to soak up the flavours. At this point they are ready to use. You can store them in the fridge for about a week, if they last that long, they are quite addictive!

NB. You can use different vinegars and different spices such as cinnamon, coriander seeds, black pepper corns etc, so don’t be afraid to play around with what you already have. tucked away in your cupboards.