Moving beyond roasted veggies…

With colder temperatures and rainy or snowy weather outside I am really loving roasting produce.  I usually roast humdrum veggies to create some savory heaven. Fruits are another story for roasting.  KidneyGrub did a salad with roasted strawberries a while back (which I loved by the way and had the most delectable creamy dreassing) and I have been pondering more how to turn more low potassium fruits into low potassium recipes that wow.

Roasted grapes for kidney friendly recipes? Yes, please!

So here we are. I want to introduce you to roasted grapes! I was skeptical at first because I feared a bunch of squishy balls on top of my kidney friendly food.  BUT, lo and behold, roasted grapes are a great way to take grapes, a common kidney friendly food, and use it in a new and interesting way for your renal diet recipes.  Roasted grapes add a nice layer of subtle-sweet flavor to your any low potassium recipe without breaking the sodium, phosphorus, or potassium bank.

Low Sodium Roasted Grape Crostini with Ricotta and Balsamic Reduction

Low potassium recipe with roasted grapes, mascarpone (or ricotta), toasted baguette, and balsamic reduction.  This low sodium appetizer is great as a kidney friendly snack or a fancy appetizer for holiday events.

• Author: Jessianna Saville
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 12 crostini
• Category: appetizer or snack

Ingredients

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 lb fresh seedless grapes

6 oz mascarpone or ricotta cheese

12 slices of french bread (small baguette size)

Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400°. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, toss the grapes with the  thyme, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with pepper and toss to coat. Roast for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grapes are softened and the skins start to pop.

Step 2

Brush the baguette slices with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until golden and crisp

Step 3

While the grapes are roasting, reduce the balsamic vinegar over medium-high heat until it thickens and is reduced to about 2 Tbsp. Stir in brown sugar and sprinkle with black pepper (opt).

Step 4

To assemble the crostini, dollop 1/2 tbsp of the ricotta/mascarpone cheese onto each toast. Spoon the warm grapes on top and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Garnish with chopped rosemary.

Notes

Variations:

1. Can use rosemary instead of thyme
2. If you’re unfamiliar with making a balsamic reduction you can use honey with lemon zest or buy a pre-made balsamic glaze. If you use a pre-made balsamic glaze watch for the sodium content as sometimes extra salt is added to these.
3. Ricotta, mascarpone cheese, goat cheese, or cream cheese work great in this recipe.  Mascarpone cheese is more of a “butter” flavor as it tastes more akin to cream cheese.  Ricotta is softer flavor, but still equally delicious.

Note: Nutrition information calculated from USDA database through Nutrifox.

Keywords: low potassium recipe, renal diet recipes

KidneyGrub Verdict:

Who says you can’t make stunning food on a renal diet? These turned out beautiful both in flavor and in presentation.  I loved the combination of creamy ricotta with the sweet grapes and punch of balsamic vinegar glaze.  This makes a nice low sodium snack or a stunning guilt-free low sodium, low potassium appetizer for any holiday event. There are lots of great variations to this low potassium recipe using lemon zest or rosemary or different types of soft, spreadable cheeses (can use goat, mascarpone, cream cheese, or ricotta).  I preferred ricotta because I thought it held things together best, but the mascarpone was a wonderful flavor as well. The bread carries the majority of the sodium for this recipe, so you can slice thinly or consider using something like Melba toast which is very low in sodium.

Note on nutrition calculation: This is not an exact calculation but is within a close range.  The sodium may be slightly lower as I used a regular french bread instead of baguette (which was not available for calculation). Regular french bread is larger in size and so I consider to pieces of baguette would be about the size of slice of french bread. Like I said, it is not exact, but should be close enough to see how this would fit within a low sodium menu plan.