House-Made Seed Crackers with Spicy Red Grapes, Mascarpone and Honey
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Small BitesChef Scott Samuel from The Culinary Institute of America shows us a new take on the classic pairing of cheese and grapes. He makes healthy, whole-grain house-made crackers and tops them with creamy mascarpone cheese, and a mixture of sliced red grapes, roasted serrano chiles, lime juice, and fennel.
Ingredients
- HOMEMADE CRACKERS
4 oz Whole wheat flour
3½ oz All-purpose flour
2 Tbsp Flax seeds, ground
2 Tbsp Sunflower seeds, toasted, chopped
2 Tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Baking powder
3 Tbsp Olive oil
5-6 fl. oz Water
for dusting Flour
FRESH GRAPE TOPPING½ cup Red grapes, sliced
1 ea Serrano, charred
¼ cup Fennel bulb, minced fine
1 ea Scallions, roots removed, minced
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp Lime juice
½ tsp Kosher salt
a pinch Cayenne
½ cup Red grapes, halved
½ cup Mascarpone cheese
as needed Honey, warmed
as needed Malden salt
Directions
- For the crackers: In a medium bowl whisk together both flours, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, salt, and baking powder. Add the olive oil and stir until combined. Add the water and stir to combine and create a firm dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 to 5 times. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, cover with a damp towel and allow to rest for 1 hour.
- Roll to 1/16-inch thick, cut into shapes, and place on parchment lined sheet; bake at 450., 4 minutes first side, flip for another 4 minutes. Cool and store.
- For the topping: Place the serrano peppers in a small sauté pan, and over medium heat, char them on all sides; this will take about 8 minutes moving the peppers every minute or so. Remove from the heat and stem, seed, and minced the peppers. In a small bowl, combine the charred minced peppers, sliced grapes, fennel, scallions, olive oil, lime juice, and salt and cayenne. Toss to combine and set aside for 20 minutes to develop flavors.
- To serve: Spread a thin amount of mascarpone on each cracker, top with 1 T. of the grape topping, a few sliced grapes, a drizzle of warm honey, and a little Malden salt.
- Serve immediately.
