Zesty Prune Sauce Recipes

PLUM SAUCE RECIPE USING DRIED PLUMS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine all of the ingredients in a medium size pot. Start out with the smaller (1/2 cup) amount of water. Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
• Add additional water only if the sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pot. Dried plums that were dehydrated at home tend to be drier than their commercial cousins and may require the extra water.
• Turn off the heat and let the ingredients cool for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a blender or food processor and puree the sauce until smooth. (Alternatively, leave the sauce in the pot and, after the cooling off period, puree it with an immersion blender.)
• Store the plum sauce in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or process it in a boiling water bath so that it can be stored in sealed jars at room temperature for a year or more.
• To can the plum sauce, return it to the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and spoon the sauce into clean quarter or half-pint canning jars. It is not necessary to sterilize the jars for this recipe. Leave 1/2-inch of headspace between the surface of the food and the rims of the jars.
• Press down on the center of the sauce with the back of a spoon to release any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a moist paper or cloth towel (any sauce stuck there could prevent the lids from sealing.) Process the jars of plum sauce in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (adjust the canning time if you live at a high altitude .)

ZESTY PIZZA SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large nonstick saucepan, saute the green pepper, onion, carrot and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour or until sauce reaches desired thickness, stirring occasionally. , Cool slightly. In a food processor, process sauce in batches until blended. Spread desired amount over a pizza crust, or cool and then refrigerate or freeze. Sauce may be frozen for up to 3 months.

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.