ATLANTA — Old-fashioned muscadine recipes tend to stay just that: relics from a bygone era. A decision to cook with these grapes is a decision to spend some time separating skin and seed from pulp, and then processing the fruit so you don't end up with lumpy goo.
Beyond jams and jellies, the most famous recipe is for Grape Hull Pie. Born of frugality, this pastry is made with discarded grape skins. The skins must be softened in boiling water, then sweetened and thickened. Some recipes call for an egg custard, but most rely on starch (flour or corn starch) plus the grapes' pectins to thicken the filling. Working with a number of old and inexact recipes, we devised a new recipe that uses grape juice as well as skins.
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It is wonderful — sticky like pecan pie but earthy and textured like mince pie.
Grape Hull Pie
8 to 10 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, plus cooling time
To separate grapes easily, cut in half and squeeze them. The pulp should pop out. You can also cook this with just a bottom crust. Just shorten the times; cook for 10 minutes at 450 and about 20 to 30 minutes at 350.
1 1/2 quarts green muscadine grapes
1 cup granulated sugar or to taste
1/4 cup corn starch
Premade double pie crust
Preheat oven to 450.
Halve the grapes along the equators and pop out the seeds with your fingers, placing skins in one bowl and pulp in another. In a saucepan, combine skins and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook skins until tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain water and set skins aside.
Meanwhile, microwave pulp for 3 minutes on high, or until seeds separate easily. Pass through a sieve, pressing hard to extract juice and soft pulp. Mix pulp, skins and sugar. Taste and add sugar, if desired. Add corn starch and stir to combine. It should make between 3 and 4 cups.
Fit the unbaked pastry shell into the pie plate and fill with muscadine mixture. Cover with remaining crust. Press edges together and decoratively flute.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden and you can hear filling bubbling. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving.
Per serving: 359 calories (percent of calories from fat, 31), 3 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 13 grams fat (3 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 294 milligrams sodium.
Seared Scallops With Muscadine Vinaigrette
4 servings
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
This basic vinaigrette would also be delicious on a salad.
2 cups red muscadine grapes
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for sauteing
1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 heaping teaspoon minced shallot
Salt and pepper to taste
12 large sea scallops, preferably dry pack
Halve the grapes along the equators and pop out the seeds with a small knife. Pop the pulp out of the skins into a blender. Place the skins in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. Set pan aside.
Place the oil, vinegar, shallot and salt and pepper into the blender and puree until smooth. Reserve.
Pat the scallops dry, season well and sear in a hot skillet filmed with olive oil over a medium-high flame. Sear about 4 minutes on each side until well-browned and just beginning to shrink and give up juices. Place the scallops on a warm plate to hold. Deglaze the skillet with about 1/4 cup of the liquid from the boiling skins. (Discard the skins.)
Place the deglazing liquid in the blender and give it another spin to combine.
Serve scallops with the vinaigrette over salad, rice or pasta.
Per serving: 342 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 19 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 22 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 37 milligrams cholesterol, 185 milligrams sodium.
These recipes were printed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
