Quick Tip: One of my favorite days of the month is the day when my new issue of Gourmet magazine appears in my mailbox. This happy event took place just the other day, and I promptly swooned over the enormous up-close image of rack of lamb swathed in peppercorns on the cover.
Photo, Gourmet.comI dog-earred a few pages and skipped on out to get the ingredients for things like braised lamb shoulder chops with apples and figs in a brandy sauce, a breakfast couscous with dried fruit, or a fig peppercorn spread.
All of these dishes are actually pretty easy to throw together even without a trip to the grocery store, however, since they all rely on dried fruit, which keeps forever. I still have memories of fruit leather made summers earlier and forced upon us children by my well-meaning mother, who refused to buy us fruit roll-ups. I hated her for it at the age of six, but now the unspoken "you'll thank me later" prophecy came true and then some.
Because they keep so long, I buy vast quantities of dried fruit--apricots, figs, prunes, cranberries, candied ginger, golden & purple raisins, cherries. Then on an uninspired evening, when I have little in the fridge to work with, I can toss them in the tamest of dishes to add a beautiful splash of color and a heady sweet flavor. Suddenly 'nothing to eat' becomes a gorgeous dish I find myself craving even when I do have more options. Pick up a couple yourself next time you're at the store & see what culinary visions may come of it.
Liquids to have on hand for making dried fruit sauces include olive oil, butter, orange juice, broth, white wine, sherry or brandy, balsamic vinegar, & apple cider vinegar. These keep for ages as well, orange juice excepted.
For example, last night I browned 2 lamb shoulder chops ($4.00 for the pair) over olive oil briefly, then added 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp butter, and 1 chopped & peeled apple and let the apple brown before adding a chopped green onion. To this I added 1/2 cup sherry (alas, I had no brandy but substituted in true Faux Gourmet style), 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1 tsp bay leaves, and about 10 dried prunes, cut and smashed to release the juices. I poured this over the lamb, and served with a pasta topped with a hastily assembled lemon juice-butter-garlic sauce that melded beautifully with the lamb, making a silky layered sauce, a pretty reward for, at most, 30 minutes of effort.
Sadly I have no photos of this feast, but I can say while I was eating it in the commons room at school I felt a little like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.
NB: This recipe is from Gourmet Magazine; neither it nor the other aforementioned recipes appear on Gourmet website as far as I can tell, but there are a whole lot of other beautiful images & ideas. I do have a few other bits & photos to post to further proclaim my love of dried fruit (and hopefully convert you as well) which I'll get to eventually.
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