Pork & Prune Kabobs

[dstr8]

Recipe courtesy of Lidia Bastianich's "Common Sense Italian Cooking" cookbook.  

 

Pork tenderloin, cubed into 2" chunks

Red onion, quartered and separated into skewer size pieces

Prunes (optional:  macerated in marsala or port wine)

Fresh bay leaves

Olive oil

Skewers (soaked in warm water)

 

Crazy simple recipe but the sum flavor total surpasses the simple ingredient "parts"!   Toss the pork chunks, red onion and fresh bay leaves in olive oil.  Skewer the ingredients and course/kosher salt to taste then onto the KK grill until the pork is to medium doneness.  

 

To guild the lily, so to speak, I reduce marsala wine (port or late harvest red wine works too) about 75% to a syrup consistency to drizzle over the cooked kabobs right before serving.

 

Lidia's, from the same Common Sense Italian Cooking, easy baked fennel bulb with cheese makes a wonderful side dish along with a leafy green salad.

 

http://shopping.lidiasitaly.com/lidiascommonsenseitaliancooking.aspx

 

[CeramicChef]

distr. - at first I thought PRUNES? Are you kidding me?  But as I read your post, this really sounds pretty goo, dadgummed good in fact.  I'm going to give this a try!  THANKS!

 

Oh, and btw, those kabobs look delicious!  Killer!

[amir]

Looks awesome.  How can  you tell if the pork is done?  Small cubes like that - assume it's by sight/experience rather than a temp probe???

[tony b]

Nice looking kebabs!

 

Yeah, pork and dried fruits go naturally together. I use a combo of dried apricots, prunes, currants, apples, and cherries in braised pork chops with red wine. Toss the fruit and wine into the food processor after the pork chops are done, then back into the pot and reduce down to make the sauce, mount it with a healthy dose of butter and you got some kind of killer hearty winter dinner there paired with dumplings or noodles. 

[dstr8]

Looks awesome.  How can  you tell if the pork is done?  Small cubes like that - assume it's by sight/experience rather than a temp probe???

 

Resistance at the end of my index finger