Prunes In Red Wine Food

PRUNES POACHED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place prunes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, combine wine and honey in a medium saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape seeds from the vanilla bean halves into wine and add pods. Add cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Add prunes to wine and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add zest. Remove cinnamon stick.
• Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. Prunes will keep for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

SPICED PRUNES IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Wrap cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon in a small piece of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen twine.
• Add to a 4-quart saucepan along with lemon peel, wine, sugar and prunes.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer.
• Cook until prunes have softened and the liquid is reduced but not syrupy, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Lift out and discard cheesecloth bundle and lemon peel. Divide prunes and liquid among four shallow bowls, and dollop mascarpone on top of each portion.

PRUNES IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Combine wine, orange peel, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon sticks and allspice in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Stir in sugar. Simmer 10 minutes. Add prunes, simmer 10 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in triple sec.
• Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside up to 3 hours before serving, turning prunes in wine syrup from time to time. Strain, reserving syrup in a bowl. Return prunes to syrup and discard spices. Serve at once, with a dollop of cream if desired, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

SHABBAT COFFEE CAKE WITH RED WINE-SOAKED PRUNES

Steps:

• For the prunes: In a small pot, combine the prunes, granulated sugar, wine and cinnamon stick if using. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine reduces by about a quarter and the mixture becomes syrupy, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the prunes cool to room temperature. Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate until you're ready to make the cake. (You can do this up to a week ahead of time and keep them chilled until ready to use.)
• For the streusel topping: Combine the flour, dark brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl. Break up any lumps of sugar with your hands, and then mix to evenly distribute all the ingredients. Add the melted butter and vanilla, and with a fork, gently mix the mixture together until large crumbles form. Use your hands and continue to gently mix until the topping is in crumbled bits ranging in size from a small marble to a lentil. Cover and place the streusel in the refrigerator to chill while you mix the cake.
• For the cake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper and then butter the bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the salt and set aside.
• In another mixing bowl, cream together the remaining 7 tablespoons of butter with the granulated sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla seeds. I like to do this with a large, stiff spatula, or a wooden spoon, beating the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix to fully combine. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and gently fold them together until uniform. Last, add the sour cream and gently fold it through the batter until just combined. A few streaks is ok; you don't want to overmix it.
• Remove the prunes from the red wine syrup, straining off the liquid. Save the liquid for later! It's great drizzled on fruit or ice cream. Roughly chop the prunes and set aside.
• Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan, and smooth it out into an even layer with a spatula. Add the chopped prunes in an even layer and then cover with the remaining batter, smoothing it out into an even layer. Remove the streusel from the fridge and gently break up any large clusters with your hands. Top the cake with the streusel crumbles in an even layer.
• Bake until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs, 50 to 55 minutes.
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a heatproof surface for at least 1 hour. Release the outer ring of the springform pan, running a butter knife around the edges if the cake seems to stick in any areas. I like to leave the cake on the bottom round of the pan for easy serving.
• Place the coffee cake on a serving platter or cake stand and using a small, fine strainer, dust the powdered sugar all over the top of the cake. Slice and enjoy. Shabbat Shalom!

PRUNES IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Heat wine and sugar over low heat until sugar dissolves.Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until prunes soften, about 20 minutes.Remove prunes and bring syrup to boil. Boil rapidly to reduce to about 375 ml (1 1/2 cups).Return prunes to syrup and heat through.Serve hot on its own, decorated with orange peel, or over ice cream, or chill and use as needed.

PRUNES IN WINE AND ARMAGNAC

Steps:

• In a stainless-steel saucepan combine the wine and the sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it for 1 minute. Add the prunes and the Armagnac and simmer the mixture, covered, for 15 minutes. Let the mixture cool, covered, for 15 minutes and spoon it into a 1 1/2-quart ceramic or glass container. Let the mixture cool completely, covered. The prunes keep, covered and chilled, for 3 months.

BELGIAN RABBIT WITH PRUNES IN WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• MARINADE: Combine all ingredients for marinade in large plastic bag. Place bag in shallow glass, stainless steel or plastic bowl.
• Remove head from rabbit and cut the rest into 6 pieces. Place in bag with marinade; close top firmly with a twist tie and lay flat in dish. Marinate rabbit pieces, turning bag periodically, for 2 to 4 hours.
• Soak prunes in water while rabbit marinates.
• Remove rabbit from marinade and wipe dry; reserve marinade. Toss meat in flour and reserve on paper towels. Strain marinade, pressing out and reserving all liquid.
• In large heavy saucepan, melt butter, add oil and, over medium high heat, brown rabbit. With slotted spoon, remove rabbit and set aside. Saute onions for 5 minutes; return rabbit to pan and add salt, pepper, wine, strained marinade, prunes and their soaking water. Mix gently but thoroughly to blend all ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until rabbit is tender and sauce thickened.
• Taste, adjusting seasoning if desired. Transfer to heated serving bowl and garnish with orange peel. Makes 6 servings.
• Canadian Living.

RED WINE-POACHED PRUNE TART

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring wine, orange juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and the cinnamon stick to a boil. Remove from heat; add prunes, and let steep 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer prunes to a bowl. Return liquid to a boil; cook until slightly reduced and thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out and trim dough to a 12-by-9-inch rectangle. (If necessary, overlap edges of 2 smaller pieces to form a larger rectangle; brush overlap with water to seal, then roll out dough.) Transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine orange zest and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle evenly over pastry. Arrange prunes in rows over pastry, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cream; brush over edges of pastry.
• Bake, brushing tart with reserved cooking liquid halfway through, until crust is golden, about 28 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm with crème fraîche or whipped cream.