When I was in France a few years ago in the Alsace region I had a very simple grape tart that was great. Never had a dish quite like it. It was really just grapes and a laminated dough. I was talking with a friend the other day and he mentioned he had a cheese plate with smoked grapes that basically exploded with smoke flavor. Paired with the cheese he said it was really amazing. So we kept talking about doing something with the smoked grapes, so here is what the end result was. It also helps to have grapes that are picked just days before consuming this dish. Right now in Malibu they have one farmer who has this amazing crunchy, soft, and extra sweet black grapes. I've been buying them and trying to use them in different dishes. This was the starter for a business lunch I did a few days ago. Here is the this simple recipe, hope you enjoy it!
2 cups fresh sweet black grapes (or any variety you can find)
1 sheet of puff pastry cold but not frozen
4 oz of Humboldt fog cheese
1 oz of aged balsamic
Micro greens to finish
small apple and cherry wood chips
For the grapes,
Place a wood chips in a bottom of a stove top smoker. Place the rack and pan on top with the grapes on top of the tray. Cover the smoker and turn on the gas. Once the smoker starts smoking let it smoke for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the heat and set aside for 25 minutes. Then take out and cut in half and set aside
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
For the tart,
Take the puff pastry out of the refrigerator and mold into a large tart pan. Trim off the excess. Then take a piece of parchment paper and place on top of the dough. Add pie weights or dried beans on top of the paper to keep the pastry weighed down during the cooking. Cook the dough for 25 minutes. Then take the paper off the tart and line the tart with the halved smoked grapes. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the dough is fully cooked. Take out and let it cool. Cut into desired pieces when ready to serve.
To finish simply add a few pieces of the humboldt fog cheese to the tart. Drizzle with a touch of the aged balsamic on top, finish with the microgreens. Serve and enjoy!
