The combination of dried fruit and meat was much more common in the past than it is now in Italy. But this doesn't make it any less tasty, and the combination of prunes and beef is frankly libidinous. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 pounds (600 g) beef, from a cut that will grill well, for example rib eye or strip steak
- 30 dried prunes
- A sprig of thyme, minced
- Several bay leaves
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 skewers
Preparation:
Begin by soaking the dried prunes in a bowl of warm water to plum them. While they are plumping, cut the meat into equal-sized pieces that aren't too small -- aim to have 16 pieces. While you are doing this, you should also heat your grill.
Slip the pieces of meat onto the skewers, with a couple of prunes and a piece of bay leaf between each apir of pieces of meat. When you have finished assembling the kebabs, brush them with olive oil, dust them with the minced thyme, season them with salt and a healthy grinding of pepper, and grill them, turning and basting them with more oil for about 10 minutes, or until the meat reaches the degree of doneness you prefer.
Serve them at once, with a medium bodied red wine, for example a Pinot Noir.
Don't have a grill? Heat your oven to 400 F (200 C), arrange the skewers over a roasting pan (with the tips and tails of the kebabs on the lips of the pan, so the meat remains suspended, without touching the bottom of the pan), and roast them for about 10 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings prune and beef spiedini.
Slip the pieces of meat onto the skewers, with a couple of prunes and a piece of bay leaf between each apir of pieces of meat. When you have finished assembling the kebabs, brush them with olive oil, dust them with the minced thyme, season them with salt and a healthy grinding of pepper, and grill them, turning and basting them with more oil for about 10 minutes, or until the meat reaches the degree of doneness you prefer.
Serve them at once, with a medium bodied red wine, for example a Pinot Noir.
Don't have a grill? Heat your oven to 400 F (200 C), arrange the skewers over a roasting pan (with the tips and tails of the kebabs on the lips of the pan, so the meat remains suspended, without touching the bottom of the pan), and roast them for about 10 minutes.
Yield: 4 servings prune and beef spiedini.
