Recipe Review: Rosemary flatbread with grapes and blue cheese.

It’s tradition at vineyards to have a celebratory meal each fall after the harvest. An aspect of this ritual is to bake bread with grapes in it, quite appropriately. This recipe comes from David Page, a chef-turned-winemaker, of Long Island’s Shinn Estate Vineyards. We paired it with a nice, dry rosé, although next time I’d probably prefer a fruitier one. It’s easy, fun, and most of all, delicious in a way that leaves you, and your palate, delightfully satisfied.

We tried a Bourgogne Pinot Noir rosé.

Grapes are pressed, and looking a little stupid, I thought. I used a fork to make holes to accelerate the process.

You’ll need: 1 envelope dry, active yeast; 2 Tbsp sugar; 2 cups bread flour; 3/4 cup warm water; 2 tsp chopped rosemary; 1/2 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper; 1/2 lb red grapes (1.5 cups); coarse sea salt; 3 oz crumbled bleu cheese (1/2 cup); 1 Tbsp honey; 1 Tbsp snipped chives.

With which you will: In a large bowl, whisk yeast and sugar with 1/4 cup flour. Stir in 1/4 cup warm water, let stand until slightly foamy (~5 min). Add rosemary, fine salt, pepper, 1.75 cups flour, and remaining water. Stir until dough forms. Turn dough on lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth (~5 min). Transfer to oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a draft-free spot until billowy and doubled in bulk (~1 hour). Heat oven to 450° and place pizza stone in bottom of oven; let warm for at least 30 min.* Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, press and stretch (~13″), transfer to pizza peel, press in grapes and sprinkle with sea salt. Slide bread onto hot stone (~12 min) until crust is golden and grapes are beginning to seep juices. Sprinkle bleu cheese, bake until melted (~2 min), then slide onto work surface and drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chives.**

Man I love cheese.

*I don’t have a pizza stone yet. We used a perforated pizza tin and decreased heat and just watched the crust.

**My chives were wilted (boo) so I used the green ends of scallions instead and it was still fabulous.

Bon appetit!

A little honey bonus.