With surveys suggesting most of us don’t eat enough fibre, Jeananne Craig sings the praises of the humble prune
Wolfing down fashionable foods like avocados, almonds and acai berries – and reaping their nutritional benefits in the process – may be all the rage, but the humble prune shouldn’t be forgotten. Granted, a serving of these fragrant fruits might seem a lot less glamorous than, say, a fresh green smoothie or a handful of chia seeds, but these wrinkly wonders have all sorts of health advantages – not least when it comes to your digestive system.
Research has revealed that around eight in 10 of us don’t get enough fibre in our diet, while recent studies have found that the average fibre intake of UK adults is 18.4g per day – that’s 26% less than the recommended dietary fibre intake of 25g per day. However, just three prunes (which are simply plums with the water removed) will amount to one of your five-a-day, ensuring you get that bit closer to your daily target – and help keep everything ticking over nicely in the bathroom department.
They’re also a good source of potassium, which helps maintain normal blood pressure, and vitamin B6 and copper, which support the immune and nervous systems, and vitamin K and manganese for bone maintenance.
HOW TO EAT MORE
According to celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager, there are a number of ways to incorporate this super-healthy foodstuff into our busy lives. “To me, prunes are a ’superfood’. They’re healthy, great for kids, they’ll fill you up, they’re substantial,” she says. “I like a packet in my car instead of a bag of sweets, because I do a lot of driving and they’re naturally sweet.”
The cook and author has teamed up with California Prunes to come up with some tasty prune-based dishes, including prune and salted caramel cream, and prune and duck tartare tartlets.
“Prunes are so versatile and you can do so much with them.
You can make them sophisticated, homely, any way at all,” says Shrager. “You can sweeten something with prunes instead of sugar, it’s a much healthier product to use. I’ve always been a fan.”
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE SUGAR
Dietician Jennette Higgs agrees that, instead of reaching for a fizzy drink or a bar of chocolate when we fancy a sweet fix, it’s a good idea to stock up on prunes instead.
“The sugar provided in whole fruits is not a problem, as this is in a form that is much more filling and more slowly digested in the body,” she adds. “People should not be put off eating whole fruits, either fresh or dried, in their quest to reduce sugar intake.”
PRUNE RECIPES TO TRY AT HOME
If you want to make room for prunes in your life, here are two recipes from Rosemary Shrager and California Prunes.
California Prune And Duck Tartare Tartlets
Makes 16
For the duck tartare:
80g California prunes, finely chopped
350g duck breast, skinned
1tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 chilli, finely chopped
4tbsp chopped coriander
1 spring onion, diced
For the pastry:
115g plain flour
10g cornflour
25g icing sugar
20g butter
1 egg
Drop of milk
Very finely dice the duck then mix with the rest of the ingredients. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for an hour to marinate. Mix together the flour, cornflour and icing sugar then rub in the butter til the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the milk and egg and mix well, making a dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Roll out the dough very thinly and line mini tart tins with the pastry, then bake blind for 15 minutes at 180C. When cool, put a teaspoon of duck tartare in each pastry case.
California Prune And Salted Caramel Cream
Serves 8
For the California prune puree:
150g California prunes
Peel of one orange
25g caster sugar
Water to cover
Juice of half a lemon
Rum for soaking
For the salted caramel cream:
300ml double cream
100ml full fat milk
125g caster sugar
3g gelatine leaf
2tbsp water
6 large egg yolks
2tsp Maldon salt
First make the California prune puree. Put the prunes into a medium saucepan and cover with water. Put in the orange peel, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a low simmer for about 20 minutes. You may need to top up with a little more water. Leave to cool and then drain well, reserving the juice. Remove eight California prunes for garnish and soak them in rum, allowing them to steep for an hour. Now remove the orange peel and put the rest of the California prunes into a liquidizer to puree. If you need to thin it out a tiny bit, add a small amount of the reserved liquid. Cover the puree and leave until needed.
Meanwhile, to make the caramel cream, put the gelatine leaf into cold water to soften. Put the cream and milk into a small pan to bring to the boil, then turn off the heat. In another pan, add the water and sugar and slowly bring to the boil and then allow it to turn into a light caramel. Remove from the heat and very slowly add the hot cream bit by bit to the sugar. Now put in the Maldon salt and stir until well combined.
Put the egg yolks into a large bowl and whisk well. Add the hot caramel milk and cream, pour back into a clean saucepan and slowly bring up to heat to make a custard cream. Only take it up to 84C, being careful not to heat it too high, otherwise the mixture will curdle. Remove from the heat, squeeze the water from the gelatine and add it to the cream. Stir until it has dissolved. Place one or two of the prunes in the base of eight small glasses and pour over the caramel cream.
Put the dessert into the fridge for four hours to set. Now add a thin layer of California prune puree, and top with some caramel shards to serve.
For more prune inspiration, visit www.californiaprunes.co.uk