Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Italian Sauces
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Stephen Ceideburg
1/2 c Bread crumbs
1 t Sugar
2 tb Chopped parsley
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper
2 Garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 c Unsalted hazel nuts or
-almonds
1 c Juice from unripened grapes
-(about 1 large bunch)
1/4 c Chicken broth (optional)
Chef Marco Fiorini's family roots are in the
Valtellina, one of the rugged, narrow Alpine valleys
northeast of Milan. Fiorini remembers the old people
there making this sauce, which dates back at least to
the Middle Ages. The juice of unripened grapes is used
in place of vinegar, which gives the sauce a
hauntingly tart taste. Where to find unripened grapes?
In a neighbor or friends backyard arbor, or ask a
farmer's market grape vendor to bring you some
not-yet-ripe grapes.
Put bread crumbs, sugar, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic
and nuts into a blender or food processor and puree,
as if making pesto sauce.
Slowly add the grape juice. At this point the mixture
may be heated in the chicken broth and served as a
warm sauce. Be care- ful not to let the sauce boil, or
it will separate.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Uses: Serve warm as a sauce for fish, veal or chicken.
Or omit the chicken broth and serve at room
temperature or on crackers or bread, or as a dip for
raw vegetables.
PER TABLESPOON: 25 calories, 0 g protein, 2 g
carbohydrate, 2 g fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg
cholesterol, 48 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
From an article by Georgeanne Brennan in The San
Francisco Chronicle, 9/4/91.
