This week is National Breakfast Week and by pure chance I was going to tell you about these prunes anyway. I have to eat within ten minutes of waking up or I am horrible. That means that I need something easy to eat. A year or two ago that would have been a bowl of cereal. But now I find that they taste either of cardboard or sugar. I have made my own muesli for the past year or so. This is simply a mix of oats, nuts and whatever dried fruit I have in the cupboard, eaten with milk or greek yoghurt. I sometimes make granola too. But I needed a change. The idea of stewed prunes just appealed to me. I am not sure why, as the very words ‘stewed prunes’ has connotations attached to it that you don’t really want to think about first thing in the morning. That, perhaps, is why I chose to title this post ‘spiced prunes’; that sounds so much more appealing and exotic and doesn’t conjure up grandmas quite so easily.
These are easy to make, taste delicious and you make a big batch and it will keep in the fridge for a week or so, no trouble at all. I eat them with a big dollop of yoghurt stirred in. I forgot to buy some prunes this week and now I have run out and I am missing them. So, now, against all the odds and the “who’d have thought it”s, I am a confirmed stewed (aka spiced) prune eater. Give them a try and you will be too.
You can ring the changes with whatever spices you fancy. I like star anise, cinnamon and ginger but cardamom is good too. Try whatever appeals to you. It doesn’t need any sugar as the prunes are naturally sweet. I have tried adding a slice of lemon or a slice of orange but the stringency didn’t appeal to me. Give it a go though if you think you might like it.
250g ready-to-eat prunes (this amount lasts me a week of breakfasts, just for me)
water
your choice of spice, I use one star anise, half a cinnamon stick and a teaspoonful of finely chopped fresh ginger
Method
Put the prunes in a saucepan, add enough water to cover and with about 1cm of extra water. Add the spices. Place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down a little and simmer for about 10 minutes until the water is syrupy. Take off the heat. Put into a bowl, once they are cool cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge and eat whenever you feel like it.
Honestly, they are really delicious and probably very good for you.
I love spiced prunes too. And though you may reject slices of orange, do you ever cook them with a teaspoonful or so of zest? I like that.
Maybe I should try it. Ok, I will.
They sound wonderful, Kath. I can always use some breakfast inspiration.
I think you will like them Tracy. I bought some dried figs to cook with them today. Quite excited for tomorrow’s breakfast.
ARRGGGGHHHHHH Prunes OH NO!!!!!!
Now you can see I was scarred by school dinners in the 1960’s where prunes were this brown bitter mass that curdled the custard at lunch time
Plums & Greengages I love but prunes no way
Breakfast for me has to be protein rich (I am under instructions NOT to go under 90KG by my Doctor) so I am super lucky that I HAVE to eat
grilled bacon, Black pudding(real stuff from a proper butchers of course), mushrooms and eggs as much as I want
Which is great because like you I find cereals have too much sugar or taste of cardboard (inedible tasteless brown rubbish)
Well, I think you should make the most of that doctor’s advice in that case. I know what you mean about prune fear, but honestly they are really good. The figs I added to the batch I made this evening look promising.
Prunes! You either love them or hate them. I’m going to make these very soon!
I am glad you love them.
These sound very nice for a cold winter morning. I love the idea of the addition of figs. Stay warm.
I hope that you are staying warm too, with all that snow and wind that you have been experiencing. The figs are a winner.
i’ve been making my own muesli and granola as shop bought cereal disappoints me too, but I am not totally convinced with stewed prunes. I don’t mind them, but not happy about the reaction they create in my body, but I have to say I am glad you like them, I may do so in small quantity use them in cereal. Lets see 🙂 do truly hope you and the family are all well and dandy.
All well here thank you Shaheen. I knew you would be a homemade granola/muesli sort of girl. x
I absolutely LOVE prunes. My Dad does too, but other than that I struggle to find people who don’t pull a face at the very mention… Storing my breakfast prunes in the communal fridge at uni got me some very funny looks I must say… Will definitely have to try this recipe to jazz them up a little 🙂
Ha ha, I can imagine the faces as they spotted your prunes. The poor old prune, it does come in for some stick because of its association. Oh well, it has us to appreciate it. I like your blog by the way.
Poor prunes—they’ve gotten a bad rap over the years. And yet they are quite good, and immeasurably good for you. with a bit of ginger, some zest (as margaret suggests) and the figs…fantastic.