Prune Pie Food

OLD FASHIONED RAISIN PIE I

Steps:

• Combine raisins and water in a small saucepan. Boil 5 minutes. Blend brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together; add to hot raisins. Cook and stir until syrup is clear. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar and butter or margarine. Cool slightly.
• Turn filling into a pastry lined pan. Cover with top crust. Seal edges, and cut slits in the top crust.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes.

FRANGIPANE-PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, pour the hot tea over the halved prunes, and let the fruit rehydrate while you make the almond filling.
• Put almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse just until ground (be careful not to overprocess, or the filling will become a hard paste). Add the butter, eggs, brandy and almond essence, if using, and pulse just until smooth.
• Drain prunes well, pressing out any excess liquid with your hands, and place in the tart shell, more or less in an even layer. Spoon on the almond mixture, smoothing it with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle over remaining sliced almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is a nice golden brown. Dust with icing sugar, and let cool before serving.

PRUNE FILLING

Steps:

• Chop pecans and prunes together in a blender or food processor, stir in the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and lime juice. Use as a filling for cookies or pastries.

CLOSEST TO MOM'S PRUNE WHIP

Steps:

• Place plums in a saucepan; cover with water. Cover and cook until tender; drain. Puree in a blender or food processor. Add sugar and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a bowl; cool. , Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into parfait glasses or dessert dishes. Chill for at least 2 hours.

PRUNE WHIP PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Rub prunes through a strainer; add 1/2 cup sugar and heat again to boiling until sugar is dissolved.
• Add salt, lemon juice and rind.
• Beat egg whites until nearly stiff; gradually add remaining sugar and continue to beat until stiff enough to hold it's shape.
• Fold in prune pulp, pour into pie shell and bake for about 30 minutes or until set.

PRUNE PIE (KATRINPLOMMONPAJ)

Steps:

• Put prunes in water for 12 hours. When they're soft, you cut them in half and remove the stones. Use shortened soak for pitted prunes (more ubiquitous here in US).
• Coarsely grate the almond paste and mix with creme fraiche or sour cream and grated lemon peel.
• Chop together flour, fat, and water with a knife or in a food processor to a smooth dough. Roll it out on a floured pastry board and put in a pie dish with a diameter of about 9".
• Fill the pie crust with the almond mixture and press on the prunes. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake at 225C/425F in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes.

PRUNE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of sugar.
• Cut in the shortening until the mixture is crumbly.
• Add enough cold water to make a soft dough.
• Knead slightly and cut in half.
• Roll out dough, 1/4 inch thick, and line cookie sheet with one. Save the other.
• Cook prunes in water until soft. Drain.
• Mash well, adding 2 cups of sugar (to taste, you may not need it all).
• Season with cinnamon and cloves.
• Spread filling evenly over bottom crust.
• Cover with top crust pinch seams and cut steam vents.
• Bake until crust is slightly brown.

MAMA'S FRIED PIES

Steps:

• Cook fruit in water until tender. Drain and mix with sugar and margarine. Mash well. Refrigerate overnight if possible. Roll out homemade piecrust dough and cut into saucer-sized circles.
• Spoon fruit onto circles and fold over into crescent shapes, then close the edges completely with a fork. Fry until golden brown. Place fried pies on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
• Variations: For baked pies, place crescents on a lightly-greased baking sheet in a 400 degree oven until golden brown.
• For apple pies, use dried apples and add apple pie spice (or nutmeg and cinnamon) and vanilla to taste.
• For prune pies, use dry, pitted prunes and add vanilla to taste.
• Place the flour and a dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Add the shortening and cut it in with a pastry blender or use your hands, as I do. Add the water, a teaspoon at a time, kneading until the dough is smooth.

FREE-FORM FRESH PRUNE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius. Line a pizza tray (or flat tray) with baking paper.
• On a floured surface place the pastry sheets on top of each other, then roll to a 36cm circle. Trim edges if needed. Lay over pizza tray - there should be a 6cm overhang.
• Sprinkle pastry with the ground almonds.
• Wash prunes then de-seed and slice thickly. Add flour and cinnamon to sliced prunes and combine.
• Pile the prune mix onto the pastry, leaving the overhang free. Fold the 6cm edge over the fruit, pleating where needed. This will only partially cover the prunes.
• Brush the pastry with the milk then sprinkle with the sugar.
• Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until prunes have softened and pastry is golden and crisp.
• Serve warm, or cold, with rich cream.

PRUNE WHIP OR PRUNE FOOL

Steps:

• Mix prunes and sugar and cook together in a double boiler until very prune mix is tender-- mush the prunes so sugar will mix well as the mixture cooks.
• After the prunes are cooked, put mixture into blender and blend well, then cover and refrigerate.
• When prune mixture is thoroughly chilled, fold in the beaten egg whites.
• Cover and return to the refrigerator until needed.
• When ready to serve, put prune mixture into small bowls.
• Whip the cream until it forms peaks, then spoon onto each dish of prune whip and serve.
• Note: you may wish to serve this as a "fool" -- an English dessert -- by folding the whipped cream into the mashed fruit.

CHICKEN, SAUSAGE & PRUNE PIE

Steps:

• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a large rectangle roughly 45 x 30cm, then transfer to a baking tray. Arrange the bacon on top, overlapping the slices, and spoon over a thick layer of the apple sauce, cranberry or marmalade.
• Make one box of stuffing according to pack instructions. Mix the sausagemeat and stuffing together and spread it over the sauce layer, leaving a 1cm border all the way round. Spoon over a little more sauce.
• Blend the turkey and chicken in a food processor, then spread that over to form the next layer, leaving a 1cm border all the way round. Spoon over a final thin layer of cranberry or apple sauce.
• Stone and mash the prunes. Make the second box of stuffing with three-quarters of the water recommended on the packet (as the prunes will add moisture). Mix in the prunes and arrange the stuffing down the middle in a fat sausage shape.
• Carefully roll up the pie, brush the seal with beaten egg and turn so the seal is at the bottom, tucking the ends under. Bake for 20 mins at 200C/180C fan/gas 6, or 40 mins at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 until golden and cooked through. Slice. Demolish. Enjoy.