Dried and trusted
BANISH all thought of school-dinner prunes or dried fruit compote made from sad specimens that went under the name of dried figs or apricots. Today you can buy succulent, chewy, sun-dried baby bananas, luscious slices of dried mango or peach, deliciously sour dried cherries or organic dried dates. In a world obsessed by its diet, dried fruits are being reinstated as the smart new instant food - even Gordon Ramsay dries his strawberries.
Consequently, an increasingly wide range of good-quality dried fruits are becoming available to chefs and it is time to reconsider their virtues, particularly in the months when fresh fruit is still expensive.
Pamela Steele, director of Peppercorn's Natural Food Provisions, has noticed a 20% increase in demand for dried fruit in the past five years. She imports a range of dried fruit from around the world including, for example, small vine fruits. You can now buy ultra-sweet Greek votizza currants, aromatic Australian muscatel berries (large grapes dried and served on their stems) and organic raisins, as well as the usual sultanas, et al.
And then there are the tropical fruits which, according to Steele, are booming. Breakfast bars across the land now offer sun-dried pineapple rings, mango pieces, papaya and peach as well as sweet Iranian baby figs and crunchy banana chips. Even the less well-known dried fruits, like cranberries, blueberries and morello cherries, are becoming more popular.
When Paul Rankin first opened Roscoff in Belfast 10 years ago, it seemed perfectly natural to him to use dried cherries or blueberries. He had been working in the Napa Valley in California, where chefs routinely used such foods in their dishes. "I used to add dried sour cherries to my bread and butter pudding," he remembers, "but many of my early customers here thought it was too weird." Now people lap up his apple charlotte with its sun-dried blueberry sauce and ogle the apple and dried pear strudel that he prepares at demonstrations. He is not keen on combining savoury foods with dried fruit, apart from red cabbage and the occasional dish of venison, which is accompanied by sun-dried cranberries or blueberries.
Maria Elia, head chef at Delfina Studio Café in London, is quite the opposite. She will consider using dried fruit in a wide variety of recipes that can range from pasta to puddings. "Dried figs and raisins can make a fantastic vinaigrette," she enthuses. "You just blitz them with cider vinegar, wine, lime, olive oil and water, and drizzle it over some Manchego cheese or Serrano ham and organic salad leaves." Having visited the kitchen at the Rockpool restaurant in Sydney, she fell in love with one of their recipes that uses dried fruit. It was tortellini filled with a soft goats' cheese, pine nuts and tea-soaked raisins. "If I need to soak any dried fruit I usually add a little sugar to the liquid, as this stops the fruit's natural sugar being drawn out into the liquid," she explains.
She serves her tortellini as an appetiser, simply dressed with olive oil and grated Parmesan. Her kitchen will also make special fruit breads to complement their accompaniments, while countless puddings use dried fruits to add a greater depth of flavour. Hazelnut and raisin biscotti, for example, are served with a lavender panna cotta and a compote of dried figs, while mixed dried citrus fruit florentines are used to sandwich together orange blossom and pistachio nut Turkish delight ice-cream.
There are chefs who still prefer to adopt a more traditional approach to dried fruit. According to Frances Boukraa, joint owner with chef Abdel Boukraa of Adams Café in London, their North African menu uses only dried fruit in tagines. "We currently serve a lamb tagine that is cooked with prunes, sultanas and sweet spices like cinnamon, saffron, dried ginger and fresh coriander," she explains. Occasionally, they might make a lamb tagine with apricots, otherwise they use fresh dates or preserved lemons.
Mike Womersley, chef-owner of the Three Lions in Stuckton, Hampshire, has simplified his approach to dried fruit. "At the moment I am serving a starter of lambs' kidneys with dried apricots. I find that the sweetness of the fruit perfectly offsets the strong flavour of lambs' kidneys."
Shallots and finely diced smoked back bacon are gently sweated before white wine is added and reduced. Dried halved apricots are then added with some chicken stock and simmered for 20 minutes after which a chiffonnade of flat-leaf parsley is added. The sautéd kidneys are then served with some red wine jus, a garlic croñton and the warm apricots. The dish is proving so popular that many guests ask for it as a main course. Like Rankin, Womersley also likes to use dried pears in his puddings. "I make a form of tart - clafouti - with a mixture of fresh and dried pears," he states, adding that combining the same fruit in its dried and fresh form imbues dishes with an amazing intensity.
Many chefs appear to be adding dried fruit to confit-style relishes and quick chutneys. For example, Jonathan Lewis, chef and co-owner of Wesley House in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, adds home-made candied grapefruit peel just before he finishes cooking confited red onion, which is then served as relish to accompany a smoked chicken terrine. He also slowly cooks prunes with onion, garlic, sugar and vinegar, before adding spiced marinated pears, and declares it to be delicious with duck.
The possibilities for dried-fruit recipes range from blueberries or cranberries served with fresh fruit in Sauternes syrups, and ice-creams filled with chewy tropical fruits, to fruit batters for pancakes or cakes, and creamy milk puddings studded with macerated fruits and nuts, as well as countless salads, pilafs and stuffings. Paula Wolfert's book Moroccan Cuisine (Grub Street, £16.99) contains some intriguing dishes that use dried fruit, including tasira (eel with raisins and onions), a chicken, almond and raisin couscous, and fish baked with stuffed fruit.
However, the quality of dried fruit can vary, so it pays to inspect everything that you buy and avoid anything that is close to its "best before" date. According to Paul Janion, managing director of dried fruit suppliers Windmill Foods, most packers give a 12-month date stamp, and the best fruit is plump and succulent rather than shrivelled and gritty. "Some fruits can turn mouldy, but it is important not to mistake the white bloom of crystallised sugar on prunes or figs for mould," he explains.
He advises chefs to quiz their suppliers as to the quality and source of their dried fruit. Once accepted, it should be kept in a cool, dark, dry environment in spotless containers, as dried fruit acts like a beacon to any passing insect, especially in the summer. Janion recommends buying in smaller quantities, as this allows more effective quality control. Many dried fruits - not organic ones - are treated with sulphur dioxide to help preserve them and improve their appearance. A thorough wash should remove this. Even if the fruit has been sold as ready-washed, give it a good rinse before using.
Those wishing to dry their own fruits can now buy food dehydrators imported from New Zealand. The fruits are cored or stoned and sliced before being arranged on shelves. These slot in, one above the other, in a box-like device whose engine slowly dries the fruit at the correct temperature. The results can be spectacular. n
