Olive & Grape Compote Da Vinci Style
A recipe handed down through the centuries, emerging from
the swirling mists of Tuscan history drifted into my kitchen. OK, maybe not
really, but I did get inspired by the olive and grape recipe found in “Signora
da Vinci” a fictional novel about DaVinci’s mama. If you can suspend belief and
surrender to the central concept that it’s written from Leonardo’s mother’s
perspective, it’s a fine read. Who wouldn’t enjoy spending some time with the
Medici’s and their friends? All
through the book there is mention of this wonderful olive and grape compote and
at the end, the author, Robin Maxwell, kindly supplies the recipe.
I tweaked it a bit, and it’s a good thing to have a batch stashed
in the fridge for visitors, a quick snack, apperitivo time, a holiday cheese
tray or a midnight nibble. Guess
you could call it versatile.
Olive & Grape Compote
½ pound of red seedless grapes
¼ pound black pitted Kalamata style olives
1 fresh thyme sprig
2 cracked cloves of garlic
1 tiny chili pepper (optional, if you go the chili pepper
route, you want just a wisp of heat to mingle with the sweet and salty, it’s
all about balance now isn’t it?)
Olive oil, salt, balsamic vinegar
Slice the grapes in half; rough chop the olives and place in
a roasting dish. Remove the skins from the garlic and give the cloves a good
smushing crack with the side of your knife, and toss in with the fruit. Add the
crumbled dried chili pepper if you are using it. Strip the thyme branch of its
little leaves and sprinkle over the grapes and olives. Add a tiny sprinkle of
salt, splash of olive oil and roast in a 325F/165C oven and bake until the
grapes and olives have collapsed, about 40 minutes.
*Edit to add: As per Ms. Maxwells' suggestion: add some balsamic vinegar to the compote if it needs a little acid or if it seems dry, add extra olive oil and a bit more vinegar.
I roast this compote in a a clay pot so it tends to stay juicer and if you're grapes are tart…be careful with that vinegar.
can then store the compote in the fridge for a few weeks to have on hand for
emergency feedings. Or put into a regular jar and eat it quicker.
To serve:
Warm up the compote by placing it in a small oven proof dish
in a cold oven, turn the oven on to 250F/120C and remove when it’s warm….about
10 minutes, depends on how quickly your oven heats up.
Serve on thin slices of toasted garlic bread. Slice the
bread, and place in the oven at the same time as the compote. When the bread is
crisp, remove, lightly rub with a peeled garlic clove and drizzle the bread
with a bit of olive oil. Serve on the side with the compote.
A bit of soft goat cheese would be pretty tasty with this
compote.
It’s delicious and think how happy Leonardo would be knowing
you made his mama’s compote?