By incorporating versatile ingredients into your holiday cooking, you can make a vast array of tasty seasonal goodies.
For example, California grapes are abundant throughout the holiday season and add taste and visual appeal to dishes of all kinds, including in the recipes provided below for Seared Salmon with Spinach and Grapes, Grape Caprese Salad Hors d’ Oeuvres, Grapes in Rosé Wine Sauce and Wild Rice Stuffing with Grapes and Hazelnuts. Plus, they’re an easy, fresh, healthy snack to keep on hand for hungry guests waiting for the meal. With their natural beauty, grapes can also be used to create tablescapes and centerpieces for festive holiday settings.
Find more holiday recipe inspiration at grapesfromcalifornia.com.
Seared Salmon with Spinach and Grapes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 salmon steaks or fillets (6 ounces each)
- 2 tsp honey
- 3 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 large bunch spinach, washed and stemmed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups red California seedless grapes, halved
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
Instructions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
In small bowl, combine salt, mustard, thyme and pepper. Drizzle salmon fillets with honey and sprinkle with seasoning. Reserve any remaining seasoning.
In nonstick skillet or sauté pan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil. Brown both sides of salmon fillets over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side.
In baking dish, toss spinach and garlic with remaining olive oil. Place browned salmon on bed of spinach, cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake 8-10 minutes, or until salmon is just cooked through.
In skillet used to brown salmon, over medium-high heat sauté grapes 1 minute. Add wine, bring to boil and reduce quantity by half. Season sauce to taste with remaining herb mixture.
Serve salmon on wilted spinach topped with grape and wine sauce.
Nutritional information per serving: 449 calories; 36 g protein; 20 g carbohydrates; 23 g fat; 45% calories from fat; 4.3 g saturated fat; 9% calories from saturated fat; 100 mg cholesterol; 730 mg sodium; 1,120 mg potassium; 1.6 g fiber.
Grape Caprese Salad Hors d’ Oeuvres
Servings: 24
Ingredients:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- High-quality, aged balsamic vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 24 decorative bamboo skewers
- 24 red seedless California grapes
- 24 fresh basil leaves
- 24 small, fresh mozzarella balls
- Sea salt
Instructions:
On serving plate or platter, drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar, as desired. Sprinkle with pepper.
To assemble skewers: On each skewer, add one red grape, one small basil leaf and one ball fresh mozzarella.
Lay skewers on serving platter and sprinkle with dash of sea salt.
Nutritional information per serving: 44 calories; 2.5 g protein; 1 g carbohydrates; 3 g fat; 64% calories from fat; 11 mg cholesterol; 20 mg sodium; .07 g fiber.
Grapes in Rosé Wine Sauce
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups rosé wine
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 cups halved red, green or black California grapes
Instructions:
In large skillet, bring wine, sugar, vanilla bean and salt to boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stir in grapes and let cool.
Serving suggestion: Pour warm grapes over creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.
Nutritional information per serving: 250 calories; 0 g protein; 49 g carbohydrates; 0 g fat (0% calories from fat); 0 g saturated fat (0% calories from saturated fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 55 mg sodium; 1 g fiber.
Wild Rice Stuffing with Grapes and Hazelnuts
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
- 2 cans (28 fluid ounces total) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup wild rice
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 tsbp butter, unsalted
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 2 cups California seedless grapes, picked from stem and rinsed
Instructions:
In heavy saucepan, bring chicken broth to boil. Add wild rice and stir. Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Let simmer 1 hour until rice is tender and has popped open.
In frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until almost crisp, about 8-10 minutes.
Add butter to bacon pan then add onions, celery, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent. Remove from heat and fold in parsley, hazelnuts and grapes.
Add rice with any remaining liquid to frying pan and toss well to combine.
Nutritional information per serving: 166 calories; 5.4 g protein; 21 g carbohydrates; 8 g fat; 40% calories from fat; 1.4 g saturated fat; 8% calories from saturated fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 126 mg sodium; 2.6 g fiber.
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