Day 4/7 – Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Needing a break from the sweet stuff, I decided to try my hand at making risotto with prunes. I would not call myself an outstanding chef by any stretch. I say this, for any self respecting chef will tell you, it’s not a true risotto without saffron. Since I don’t have saffron and I can’t leave the house to get any, this shall suffice.

Ingredients:

6 pitted California Prunes
1/4 cup of minced onion
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Dash of garlic powder
1 cup chicken stock, plus 1/2 cup more on hand
2/3 cup dry Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
Stream of heavy cream
Shredded Asiago cheese

Take 6 pitted California prunes and place them in a small bowl. Pour a 1/4 cup of white wine over the prunes to help them moisten. I used River Road Uncorked Chardonnay, as it’s what I had available. Any dry white wine will do. Feel free to just use water, if you want to skip the alcohol.

While the prunes are plumping, dice a 1/4 onion, finely. Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a sturdy pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and sauté until translucent.

Add 2/3 cup dry arborio rice. I used Vigo, but any arborio rice will suffice. Stir the rice, along with the butter and onion until the rice turns a golden brown color. Sprinkle garlic powder (to your liking) and stir.

Add the prunes and wine to the pan of rice. Stir.

Pour half the chicken stock into the pan, just enough to cover. Keep heat at low to medium temperature, just enough to cook the rice, but not so much that it will boil the liquid off too quickly. You want the rice to slowly absorb the stock. The key to a decent risotto is patience. Keep an eye on the rice. Add more chicken stock as necessary to keep the rice covered, but not flooded with liquid. Cook for at least 20 minutes, added more stock and stirring as needed. (Note – I ended up cooking my rice for about 25 minutes and adding more stock than I had initially planned, as I was not confident the rice was cooked. It’s a bit like the chip and dip game! That’s why it is a good idea to have extra stock at the ready.)

Once the rice is cooked. Slowly stir in a stream of cream until the rice turns a paler color. Plate your cooked rice. I chose to grate fresh asiago cheese on top for a little salty treat. Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, any of these would work well.

The verdict? What a shock. I truly adored this dish. I know I must sound like a broken record. Every dish I have made has surprised me. Yet, most of the dishes so far were sweet dishes. Dishes that can take prunes and highlight their natural sugars. I thought the pairing of chicken stock and prunes would not go well. Pork and beef maybe, as prunes tend to bit hearty and evoke a meaty quality to them, but chicken? My theory is, prunes are a bit of a chameleon – taking on the flavors of ingredients around them.

With regard to the promise of feeling less sluggish and having more energy, per the vintage California Prune Grower’s Ad, I’m not there yet. Having this health bug to weigh me down doesn’t help and isn’t really great timing to see if prunes help with this or not. Nevertheless, we march on.

This is one dish I will make again. If you dare to try your hand at creamy chicken risotto with California prunes, tweak it, make it your own. Feel free to comment on things you changed. I would love to hear your thoughts on how to make a good dish great!