Homemade Lekvar

A few days ago, while looking into my cupboard for something, I found an unopened package of prunes that had reached its "best by" date. Indeed, when I opened it, the prunes were a bit too dry for tasty snacking.

But!

I can’t throw out perfectly good food. Rather than discard, I decided to make my own lekvar (and then use it for all sorts of recipes).

For several mornings I had some lekvar with yogurt (awesome). Just like the old days when Dannon had a perfectly wonderful prune yogurt.

I also made some of our treasured family recipe of butter cookies and used the lekvar for filling the center.

I don't ever have to buy lekvar again.

Here’s the recipe. I added fresh ginger to a portion and cooked it separately. It’s not typical for lekvar but I thought it added a good flavor. I list it as an option, but encourage you to try it too.

I’ll remember this recipe next Purim when I need to fill some homemade hamantashen.

Prune Lekvar

• one pound pitted prunes (about 2 cups)

• mixture or orange juice, apple juice or other fruit juice plus water (enough to cover the prunes)

• 4 slices of peeled fresh ginger (1/4-inch thick)

• pinch of salt

• 5 tablespoons packed brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place the prunes in a saucepan. Add juice plus water, using enough to cover the fruit and add the ginger and salt. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the prunes are soft. Be sure there is some liquid left in the pan; if not, add a bit more. Stir in the sugar and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and puree using a blender hand blender.

Makes 2 cups

Prune and Apricot Crumb Pie

Prunes used to be the laughing stock of fruit. Really. Kids used to snicker at the thought of them because, you know, prunes are supposed to be for old folks who, um, need the fiber.

Well, confession here — I always loved prunes. Plump, moist, sweet prunes. Great snack. And when I was much younger I ate Dannon’s Prune Yogurt at least twice a week. It was made with whole milk and had a thick, pureed, stewed prune layer at the bottom.

But I think I was only one of two people who loved that yogurt (the other was my husband Ed, which is probably why we knew we were going to click romantically from the start). Because Dannon stopped making that flavor yogurt long ago.

Yeah yeah, there are some new prune yogurts out there but they’re not the old full-fat, thick-as-lekvar prune layer yogurt I remember. The only way to get that is to add some prune lekvar to some yogurt (or stew some prunes and puree them yourself).

But some good news has come for people like me who actually like prunes and don’t think they are funny at all. And who eat prunes because we like them and not because we, um, need them.

Here’s an article that speaks to the benefits of prunes. A great snack, it says because prunes are filling, sweet and satisfying and they are also high in antioxidants as well as fiber.

Give some prunes to your kids and see how they react. Don’t tell them prunes are for senior citizens. Snacks this sweet are sure to please children and their parents too.

And if you want to try prunes in recipes, start with this old fashioned dessert. It’s a winner in all respects. Great warm with a little ice cream (but plain is terrific too).

Prune and Apricot Crumb Pie

3 cups mixed dried pitted prunes and dried California apricots

water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Crumb Crust

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the prunes and apricots in a saucepan. Cover the fruit completely with water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer the fruit for about 10 minutes or until the fruit is softened. Drain the fruit but reserve the liquid (should be about 1/2 cup; add more if necessary to make 1/2 cup liquid). In a saucepan mix the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add the 1/2 cup reserved liquid. Stir ingredients and cook over low-medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the cooked fruit, lemon juice and butter. Stir ingredients until the butter has melted. Spoon the fruit mixture into the pie crust. Scatter the crumb crust on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Makes one pie serving 8 people

Crumb Crust:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

Mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture is crumbly.