Tempranillo, Oil on linen, 150 x 100
I couldn’t travel to Jamaica to paint ugli fruit, which is a very knobbly citrus, so changing languages again was a great way to get around that. Uzum is Turkish for grapes and in Spanish it’s uva, so it is only right that this first painting is of the Spanish variety Tempranillo, from the Before the Wine Series. Just for balance here’s a white.
Savignon Blanc, Oil on canvas, 90 x 120cm
With wine such a perfect way to use a grape, do we even need a recipe? Just fill a glass and kick back!
Still here are a few ideas. There is the classic cheese and grapes platter at the end of a superb meal, or as the perfect picnic on a summer afternoon. Maggie B likes to press fresh grapes into focacia dough before baking, instead of using olives. Another of her ideas is a red and green grape salad with boccincino, roasted pancetta and garlic, rocket, whitlof, walnuts, capers, thyme, verjuice, oil and lemon juice.
Turning on the oven in summer is a no-no for me, so an easier swap for the salty kick is to go for a really old crumbly vintage cheddar, red and green grapes, whichever green leaves suit your fancy, lemon, basil and if you are wanting a kick, a little chilli infused oil and spicy or smokey nuts.