Prune Purée

Serve with your favourite breads.

1¾ cups boiling water
2 Earl Grey tea bags
½ lb pitted prunes
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon peel, freshly grated
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Combine boiling water and tea bags in a medium bowl; cover and steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags.

Combine tea and prunes in a large heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until tender. Place prune mixture in a blender; process until smooth.

Combine prune mixture, sugar, and lemon rind in pan; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently. Stir in vanilla; cool.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 months.