Prune Sauce Recipes

BRAISED SHORT RIBS IN PORCINI-PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive mixing bowl, combine short ribs, carrots, celery, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cut 4 of the onions into 1-inch chunks, and add to bowl. Cut 2 heads of garlic (with peel) in half crosswise, and add to bowl. Pour wine over all, and mix well. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove short ribs from marinade, and drain well. Pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Strain marinade into a clean bowl, reserving vegetables. Remove thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns, and reserve. In a large casserole over high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of duck fat, and add short ribs. Sear short ribs until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove short ribs, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of duck fat to casserole, then add the reserved vegetables. Saute, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add reserved marinade, and stir well. Boil marinade until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Add veal stock, short ribs and reserved thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover, and braise in oven until ribs are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove short ribs from casserole, and set aside. Pour vegetables and liquid through a fine strainer into a large bowl. Discard all solids, and return liquid to a clean casserole. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, and reduce by half, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Cut remaining 3 onions into large dice. Separate the cloves of the remaining head of garlic, and peel and thinly slice. In a large saute pan over medium-low heat, add remaining 1 tablespoon duck fat. Add mushrooms, and saute until lightly browned. Remove from pan, and set aside. Add diced onions to pan, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sliced garlic to onions, and saute for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and prunes, and saute just until heated.
• Add sauteed onion, garlic, prunes and mushrooms to the casserole containing the reduced wine mixture. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add short ribs, and mix gently. Place over medium-low heat, and simmer just until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

PORK LOIN WITH APPLES, PRUNES, AND MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Halve pork loin crosswise, then pat dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper (total). Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, 1 piece at a time, turning occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes per piece. Transfer to a small flameproof roasting pan as browned (do not clean skillet) and roast pork until thermometer inserted diagonally at least 2 inches into meat registers 150°F, 40 to 50 minutes.
• While pork roasts, peel, quarter, and core apples, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add apples, prunes, broth, and water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in cream and mustard and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm, partially covered.
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Add wine to roasting pan and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir pan juices into cream sauce along with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper and heat sauce over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.
• Discard string from pork and cut each half crosswise into 4 slices. Serve pork with sauce.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat chicken thouroughly dry with paper towel and sprinkle sides with salt and pepper In a 10 to 12-inch skillet melt two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of oil over high heat.
• Add chicken skin-side down and reduce heat to moderate.
• Fry until sides are golden brown.
• (Don't worry if the inside is pink, we will be cooking the chicken more later) Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Add the celery, carrot, and onion to the fat remaining in pan, stirring occasionally, and cook until the vegetables are soft but NOT brown.
• Return the chicken to the pan and lay the parsley and bay leaf on top.
• Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Lower the heat and simmer for thirty minutes, basting it from time to time with the juices in the pan Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of water, the 1 1/2 cups of prunes, the lemon juice, and the sugar.
• Place on high heat.
• Bring prunes to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until prunes are tender.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken from the skillet and arrange attractively on an ovenproof platter.
• Scatter the cooked prunes over the top.
• Cover the platter loosely with foil and put it into the oven.
• Press hard on the vegetables with a spoonback releasing the juices.
• Discard vegetables.
• Set juices aside.
• Melt two tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the flour.
• Cook on high heat until flour is golden brown.
• Pour in the 1/2 cup of reserved prune juice and the 1/2 cup of reserved pan juices (if there is less then 1/2 cup, make up for it by augmenting it with the chicken broth) Boil until sauce is smooth and thickened.
• Serve at once.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SHALLOTS AND PRUNES

Steps:

• To brine the pork: Dissolve the salt and brown sugar in 2 cups cold water in a glass or stainless steel bowl large enough to hold the tenderloin. Add the allspice, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme. Submerge the meat, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (overnight is better). Before cooking, remove the tenderloin, pat dry and bring to room temperature. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• To make the sauce and roast: Simmer the prunes in the red wine until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the ginger and orange zest, and steep for 10 minutes
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the tenderloin, about 3 minutes per side. (Turn off heat and use the same pan to make the sauce.) Transfer the tenderloin to a small roasting pan. Roast uncovered for about 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. (Residual heat will cause the meat to continue to cook a bit while resting.)
• To finish the sauce, melt the butter in the reserved skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until softened, stirring with a wooden spoon. Scrape up any browned bits to enrich the sauce. Add chicken broth, turn up the heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in the prunes and wine, and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the Madeira if using. Taste and correct the seasoning, then add the potato starch mixture and cook for another minute to thicken. Spoon sauce and prunes over the sliced tenderloin.