Tag: Dried Fruit Salad

• In Polish households fruits that have been dried from the summer often feature as one of the 12 dishes at the evening meal at Wigilia – Christmas Eve.
• The main fruits that were dried were: apples, pears & plums.
• The dishes are easy to make but you need to start the process 2 or 3 days before hand.
• I use hot black tea to reconstitute the fruits & often using Earl Grey Tea to give it a little twist but you can use just hot boiled water.

Prunes

A good deal depends on the quality of the prunes and Agen prunes from France are the best.  You need to find good plump large prunes which still have the stones in them. However these last two years I have had difficulties find these and have had to used stoned prunes.

Ingredients

• 500g prunes
• 1 litre of hot tea – Earl Grey is good
• 2 tablespoons of rum

Method

• Place the prunes in a large bowl.
• Make a jug of hot tea and leave to brew for about 4 minutes.
• Pour the hot tea over the prunes, if using loose leaf tea, you need to strain it as you pour.
• Make sure all the prunes are covered by adding more hot water.
• Leave the prunes overnight to plump up.

• Put the prunes and liquid (you might need to add some water) into a pan and simmer gently for about 15 minutes then leave to cool.
• Add the rum when the prunes are cold.

Pears

Ingredients

• 500g dried pears ( they come as half a pear)
• 1 litre of hot tea – Earl Grey is good
• Small piece of cinnamon stick
• 3-4 whole cloves or allspice seeds.

 

Method

• Cut the pears in half.
• Place the pears in a large bowl.
• Make a jug of hot tea and leave to brew for about 4 minutes.
• Pour the hot tea over the pears, if using loose leaf tea, you need to strain it as you pour.
• Make sure all the pears are covered by adding more hot water.
• Leave the pears overnight to plump up.
• Put the pears and liquid (you might need to add some water) into a pan, add a small cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves or 3-4 whole allspice seeds and simmer gently for about 15 minutes 15 minutes, stirring occasionally .  Take care not to cook for too long – you do not want a “mush”.
• Remove the spices then leave to cool.

 

Dried Fruit Salad

• My mother used to buy mixed dried fruits to make this & I have bought this in the past from the dried fruit & nut stall on Leeds Kirkstall Market.
• When I enquired about this – the stall holder said that they had not had this mixture for many years! She did tell me that the mixture had consisted of dried – apples, apricots, peaches, pears & plums.
• Some people make the dried fruit salad for Wigila (Christmas Eve) using 12 fruits ( another reminder of  the 12 apostles.)  So – raisins, currants, sultanas, cranberries, cherries, figs and other dried berries would be used as well.

Ingredients

• 500g mixed dried fruits
• 1 litre of hot tea – Earl Grey is good
• Small piece of cinnamon stick
• 3-4 whole cloves or allspice seeds.

Method

• Cut the larger fruits in half.
• Place the fruits in a large bowl.
• Make a jug of hot tea and leave to brew for about 4 minutes.
• Pour the hot tea over the fruits , if using loose leaf tea, you need to strain it as you pour.
• Make sure all the fruits are covered by adding more hot water.
• Leave the fruits overnight to plump up.

 

• Put the fruits and liquid (you might need to add some water) into a pan, add a small cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves or 3-4 whole allspice seeds and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally .  Take care not to cook for too long – you do not want a “mush”!
• Remove the spices  then leave to cool.

 Note

When I make any of these at other times of the year, I often serve them with soured cream or plain yoghurt or a mixture of the two.