Here we go again! Once again this Christmas you got carried away and bought too many dried fruits....
It is true that peanuts, walnuts, almonds, dried figs and dates are a must on the festive table as they are a good omen, but if you forget them in the larder for too long, you run the risk of nasty surprises...
So it's better to run for cover before it's too late. How?
We help you with three easy recipes to recycle dried fruit without waste.
Discover them now!
Dried fruit spreadable cream
Dried fruit spreadeable cream is delicious, versatile and energetic. Try it for breakfast on bread, on rusks or to make a delicious toast with bananas and you will see what a sprint your day will be!
For this recipe any type of dried fruit on hand is fine: hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, peanuts. You can use them alone for a single-flavour cream or mix them together.
The important thing is to have a powerful food processor to obtain a smooth, perfect spreadable cream.
Ingredients
- 300 g dried fruit to taste
Necessary equipment
-food processor
-spatula
-airtight jar
Method
Heat the oven in static mode to 180° and in the meantime line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the dried fruit on the baking tray and toast it in the oven for about 5 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, place the still-warm fruit inside the food processor and start blending at maximum power, stopping every 20 to 30 seconds to bring the cream together at the bottom with a spatula.
Don't worry if at first the consistency feels like flour! It takes a while to get the desired consistency.
Blend for at least 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to collect the cream at the bottom.
If needed, add a dash of seed oil (one teaspoon is enough).
Once ready, transfer to a heatproof jar and store in the pantry.
Tip: remember to sterilise the jar before using it. Fill the jar with a little water, less than half, and place it in the microwave (without the lid!!) at maximum temperature until the water boils.
Dried fruit bread
Sweet or savoury bread? It depends on how you use it! Fragrant and with a crispy crust, this bread is perfect to accompany your breakfast, but it doesn't disdain dinner either, perhaps with a little ricotta or prosciutto. The dried fruit in the dough replaces the sugar, while the semi wholemeal flour lends an even more rustic flavour to this easy-to-make bread.
Ingredients
- 250 g type 2 flour
- 6 g fresh brewer's yeast
- 150 g water
- 300 g dried fruit to taste, dried figs, dried apricots or dates
- 11 g salt
Necessary equipment
- plumcake mould
Method
Chop up the dried fruit and figs (same for dates and apricots) and set aside.
In a bowl, sift the flour and add the crumbled baking powder and most of the water.
At first stir with a spoon to mix all the ingredients, then use your hands and knead roughly.
Add salt and the remaining water and knead until smooth and homogeneous. Now add all the dried fruit, trying to incorporate it into the dough; cover and leave to rise for about 3 hours (should double in size).
After the time has elapsed, roll the dough into a loaf and place it in a lightly oiled cake tin and leave to rise for another 2 hours.
Turn the oven on static mode to 180° and bake for 30 minutes; then lower the temperature to 150° and bake for another 30 minutes. Take the bread out of the mould and put it back in the oven at 150° for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Tip: you can also slice the bread and toast the slices in the oven to make delicious rusks!
Banana bread with dried fruit and yoghurt
Admit it, you too have those bananas that have been looking almost blackened from the fruit basket for days?
If you don't want to risk them rotting, banana bread is the best anti-waste solution. In one go you can use up bananas, leftover dried fruit and maybe some yoghurt close to expiry. Plus it's great for starting the day with a good taste!
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas
- 220 g type 2 or wholemeal flour
- 2 eggs
- 100 g seed oil
- 150 g sugar
- 100 g dried fruit to taste
- 1 sachet of baking powder
- juice of 1 lemon
- cinnamon to taste
Equipment needed
- 30 cm plumcake mould
- electric mixer
Method
In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, moisten with lemon juice and mix with an electric whisk. After a few seconds, add the eggs and sugar and continue to whisk. Sift the flour with baking powder and add it a little at a time to the mixture; when it is blended, add the oil.
Finally, add the coarsely chopped dried fruit and mix with a spatula from the bottom up.
Line the mould with baking paper, pour in the dough and decorate as desired with a few banana slices and dried fruit.
Bake in a static oven at 180° for about 50-55 minutes (always do the toothpick test), then leave to cool, remove from the mould and sprinkle with a little cinnamon to taste.