Somewhat off the beaten track: schiacciata a l'uva

When you study Italian cooking, you learn that the same dish can have several different names, depending on where you're from, or from whom you learned it. The most obvious of these is canneloni/manicotti. If you look up recipes for either of these, I bet you will be struck by their similarity, although it does seem that canneloni are made with more white sauce butter and cream than manicotti, which almost always have tomato sauce over them. And that reflects their origins: canneloni are Northern, manicotti are southern. This "name game" plays out often in pastas, but it also comes across in other dishes, as one will learn.

"Schiacciata," as Annalena learned, is a Tuscan word, rather than an Italian one, and it means "focaccia." She shall take that on faith, and note that while one can find recipes for literally hundreds of focaccie, the only schiacciata recipe she ever encounters, is one for use with grapes. A bit more research turned up more on this rather interesting little dish.

Schiacciata a l'uva is what grape harvesters eat at breaks, or at breakfast or snacks, during the grape harvesting/wine season. Now, lest you fall into a romance about the act of grape harvesting and wine making, let Annalena establish something right up front: this is NOT pretty, romantic word. It's hard, it's hot, it's sweaty and it's sticky.

SILENZIO all of you pigs. Seriously, grape harvesting is not easy and it is not fun. Banish thoughts of that from your mind, immediately. And let's talk more about the recipe.

Let me give you some ingredients: rosemary, olive oil, salt, sugar, flour, grapes with seeds in them. Odd combination? Yes it is, but that's what we're going to use here, in what is, admittedly, a dish that you will either love or hate. I love it. I'm going to make it again this year. And let's get cooking

After one more digression. Did anyone notice that the recipe is written with l'uva, but there is clearly more than one grape in it? Well, that's because grapes, in Italian, are one of the odd words: in the singular, a "grape" is masculine. In the plural, "grapes" are feminine, but take singular endings. a

Got that? I don't either. Just accept it. Remember, most of Italy is Catholic. We get used to accepting the odd.

Now, the first thing you do in this recipe, and you do it ahead of time, is take 1/3 cup of olive oil, and combine it with a very heavy tablespoon of rosemary leaves. Put it in a small pot and warm it up. When you just begin to see bubbles, take it off the heat and let it cool. SERIOUSLY LET IT COOL. You're going to be using this oil in a yeast risen dough and if the oil is too hot, you will get serious flatbread.

You should also prep by getting a generous two cups of grapes off of the stem. Now, what kind of grape? Here, you have to balance authenticity with simplicity of eating. Annalena is unaware of any wine grape that does not have a seed, but she is going to check with Frank, the god of tannins to see if this is true. Most of the grapes we eat are seedless. But you can get grapes with seeds, and you should, in Annalena's view, to get the full experience. Concords work really well here (even if they do not make good wine).

Also, since you're waiting for the oil to cool, measure 3/4 cup of water 2 cups of flour, half a cup of cornmeal, 2 teaspoons of yeast, 5 tablespoons of sugar, half a tablespoon of salt, and a half cup of pine nuts. While some recipes say the nuts are optional, Annalena does not agree.

Is your oil cool to the touch yet? If it is, let's go. If not, go have a glass of wine. When it's cool, combine the water and the yeast , and then add the olive oil - with the rosemary leaves, the flour, the cornmeal, half the sugar, and the salt. You mix this, with a dough hook or by hand , until you have a smooth soft dough. It will not take long. Do recall that doughs with oil in them behave differently than those which use butter or no fat at all, so if things are looking weird, do not worry. Just take your time. It will take about 5 minutes with the dough hook, ten minutes by hand. Then, leave it alone for a good hour and a half, maybe two hours. Go have some more wine, read a book, listen to some opera, but get into the Italian spirit of things.

Some say you should pit the grapes. If you choose to do so, do not let me stop you. Moi? I prefer to drive myself crazy in other ways.

When the dough has doubled, preheat your oven to 400. Spread some oil over a baking sheet. Now, let's stop for a minute and discuss this: this dough is NOT designed to fill a standard, 13x18 inch pan. If you try to do so, you will cry, get frustrated, and assume you did it wrong. You did not. Frankly, it is BARELY sufficient to fill an 11x17 inch pan, but it can be done if you're willing to be patient. It's not supposed to fill a pan: this is as rustic as it gets. So spread it out as well as you can, unless you wish to do what some do, and fill a pie pan or cake pan with it, and go for a round, fluffier look. It will be nice, but it will not be authentic.

After you have spread the dough however you choose, press the grapes and pine nuts into it, and then sprinkle the sugar and salt over the top. If you are a true fan of rosemary, you may add some more at this point (Annalena likes rosemary a lot, but not so much here, please). Put this in the oven, and bake it for a good 25 minutes, maybe 30 ifyou like crispy edges.

This allegedly makes 6-8 servings. To be honest, the flavor is so unusual that I like to cut it in very small pieces so that people can treat it as a canape or pick at it during the day. You will find the pine of the rosemary bouncing off the pine nuts, the salt and the oil bouncing off of each other, and the jamminess of the grapes and the sugar playing off of each other too. THey are all wonderful flavors, and I do wish you would try this. Annalena realizes, however, that this may be one that is too odd for many tastes. If that is you, well, maybe leave out the rosemary and put the salt into the bread (although that makes it decidedly not tuscan). Do "cook" with grapes rather than just eating them raw, however. They are a terrific fall ingredient, and they will be gone before you know it.