Chai Spiced Breakfast Prunes
These breakfast prunes, preserved in black tea, honey, and plenty of warming spices, make a wonderful addition to your morning porridge, are delicious on top of a bowl of porridge, with granola and yoghurt, or with rice pudding.
Ingredients:
- 400g prunes (or mixed dried fruits such as: currants, sultanas, dates, apricots, pears, apples)
- 150ml orange juice or juice of 1 orange
- 500 ml water
- 3-4 x english breakfast tea bags
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2-3 teaspoons raw sugar
Chai spices:
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground clove
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 2 strips of orange peel
Method:
In a saucepan bring water to the boil and add in the teabags. Turn off the heat and allow the tea to brew.
Peel strips of zest off your orange avoiding the white pith and set aside, then squeeze oranges to make 150ml of juice.
Once tea is strong , take out the teabags, turn the heat back onto low and add in the orange juice, sugar and honey, stirring to dissolve. Add the prunes, spices and orange peel and simmer for 20 minutes, taste as you go, adding more water or juice or spices if needed. You don't want the prunes to be dry - you'll want some delicious liquid to keep them juicy.
Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Keep chai spiced prunes in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
If you want to preserve your chai spiced prunes, pack them in to sterilised jars and heat process for 30 minutes.
If you are new to preserving, or want to refresh your memory, check out out guides on how to sterilise jars and the heat processing method.