Spiced Italian Plums Prunes In Port Food

SPICED ITALIAN PLUMS (PRUNES) IN PORT

Steps:

• Cut plums in half and remove pit. Combine sugar, water, orange peel, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer a few minutes. Add plums, a layer at a time to heat through, about 2 minutes. Remove plums from syrup.
• Pack hot plums into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
• Repeat with remaining plums.
• Reheat syrup to a boil. Remove from heat; discard cinnamon sticks. Stir in port.
• Pour over plums, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. (add a few cloves and pieces of orange peel to each jar). Remove air bubbles. Adjust caps.
• Process 20 minutes in boiling water bath.

PARMESAN AND PROSCIUTTO SPICED PLUMS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the port, sugar, cider vinegar, cloves, orange zest, cinnamon, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the prunes; simmer until softened and plumped, about 10 minutes. Allow the prunes to cool in the poaching liquid for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the prunes to a plate and allow to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using a paring knife, make a slit from stem to tip in each of the prunes. Stuff each with a piece of Parmesan and wrap in a quarter slice of prosciutto. Place the wrapped prunes, seam-side down, on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake until the prosciutto is crispy and the Parmesan is soft and melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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.

PLUM-AND-PORT CROSTATA

Steps:

• Pulse flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the granulated sugar in a food processor. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, slowly add ice water until dough comes together. Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit into an 8-inch pie dish, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Freeze for up to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Simmer port and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add chile if desired. Cover, and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Stir together remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar and teaspoon salt, the plums, cornstarch, cinnamon, and port syrup. Transfer to pie shell. Fold in overhang to form a crust; brush crust with cream, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 30 minutes; reduce oven to 375 degrees. Bake until golden and center is bubbling, about 45 minutes more. Let cool.

SPICED PRUNES

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the plums, water, cinnamon, cloves and ginger; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand until cool. Stir in lemon juice. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

PRUNES IN PORT

Steps:

• soak prunes in the port overnight.
• next morning combine everything and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionaly.
• take out vanilla bean. (You can wash it and use it again).
• bottle, or store in the fridge.

ROASTED ITALIAN PLUMS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss plums in a large bowl with sugar and butter; place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until plums are cooked through and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and serve.