Sauce of Black Grapes
This sauce of grapes is a wonderful complement to a roast of beef or pork.
Country: Italy
Century: 16th
- 1/2 pound black grapes
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp clove
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine
Crush grapes (this can be done with a mortar and pestle, or by pulsing them a couple of times in a food processor). Put grapes, water, wine, and spices into a saucepot and simmer until the sauce reduces a bit. Serve with your choice of roast.
Original Recipe sources
Source [Opera dell’arte del cucinare, Bartolomeo Scappi]: Per fare sapore d'uva negra Cap CCLXXIIII. Piglisi l'uva negra, che habbia del sodo, & sia quella che si chaima gropello, cio cesense, che ha le coste rosse, sughinosi i raspi, & mettanosi a bollire nella cazzuola con foco lento per un'hora, & dapoi piglisi il sugo che tal'uva haver fatto, & colisi per una stamigna, & per ogni libra di sugo, piglinosi otto oncie di zuccaro fino, & facciasi ribollire in una cazzuola, schiumandolo, & con esso si aggiungera all'ultimo un poco di sale, & cannella intera, & facciasi bollire a foco lento, tanto che pigli la cottura, & come sar cotto, conservisi in vasi di vetro, o alberelli invetriati.
To make sauce of black grapes Scappi Cap CCLXXIIII folio 95, 2nd book Take black grapes, that are firm, those that are called "gropello", that is "cesenese", that have a red skin, break them and put to boil in a casserole on a low fire for an hour. After take the juice that they have made and strain through a sieve. And for every pound of juice take eight ounces of fine sugar and put it to reboil in a casserole, scum it well and to this add at the end a little salt and whole cinnamon and let it boil on a slow fire until it takes the cooking (the implication here is that the sauce reduces and becomes syrupy) and when it is cooked conserve it in a glass or glazed pottery vessel.