The Inspired Kitchen

Sweet and Savory Stuffed Prunes

A delicious appetizer for your Sukkot meal.

By Adeena Sussman

The holiday of Sukkot is associated with the fall harvest, and serving stuffed foods is a symbolic and flavorful way to represent the bounty of the season. A departure from more traditional stuffed foods, these stuffed prunes combine sweet and savory, and make a wonderful start to a festive meal.

 

Serves 6 (3-4 prunes per person)

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1/2 pound ground lamb or beef

2 teaspoons honey

4 dried apricots, finely minced (about 3 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons minced parsley

2 tablespoons chopped mint

3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted and cooled (toast in a 300 degree oven for 7-8 minutes, until nuts are fragrant and lightly toasted)

20 large, moist prunes, pitted

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/4 cup chicken stock

 

Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions to skillet and cook, stirring, until onions are golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic during last 2 minutes of cooking. Add beef or lamb and cook, stirring often to separate clumps, until just cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Add honey, apricots, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, and pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add parsley, mint and pine nuts, stir to combine, and remove from heat. Let mixture cool. Using a small spoon, stuff each prune with about 1 tablespoon meat mixture, packing down the filling with your index finger. Place prunes in a glass baking dish. Combine tomato sauce and chicken stock and pour over prunes. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature, with tomato sauce spooned on top.

 

Note: To make this recipe vegetarian-friendly, substitute kasha or bulgur for the ground meat.

 

Adeena Sussman is a food writer and chef based in New York. She writes the bimonthly food column Season to Taste for Hadassah magazine, and her work appears regularly on Epicurious.com, and in publications including Time Out New York, The Forward, the San Jose Mercury News, and Sunset magazine. Visit her at adeenasussman.com.