Recipe: Tori Avey’s Lekvar, Vegan, Allergen-Free

Looking for prune filling for your hamantaschen for Purim, this is the lekvar for you! 

Also, here is my gluten-free, nut-free hamantaschen recipe.

(More about the Jewish holiday of Purim here on My Jewish Learning.)

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Recipe Notes:
I used Sunsweet Bite sized pitted prunes, grown and processed in the USA.

I used Diamond Crystal Kosher salt.

I used sugar in the raw (Turbinado sugar).

I washed my cara cara orange with a tiny drop of dishwashing soap and scrubbed the skin very well before zesting. 

I juiced the same orange I zested and that was exactly the ¼ cup called for.

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Recipe: Tori Avey’s Lekvar (prune filling)
Lightly adapted from Tori Avey by me


Ingredients:
2 cups pitted prunes
1 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice (the juice from one fresh orange)
1 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons brown sugar 

Method:
Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan except for the brown sugar. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium low and cover so the mixture simmers for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

At 20 minutes, check the prune filling. If there is still a lot of liquid, let it simmer uncovered for a few more minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. (At 20 minutes, my prunes were fully broken down and the liquid evaporated so no extra cooking needed and no additional mashing needed.) 

If the liquid is mostly evaporated, take off the heat and stir in the brown sugar until it’s dissolved. Taste. If you like more sugar add another tablespoon or two to taste.

If the prunes need further smoothing, use a fork to mash, an immersion blender or a potato masher to get to your desired consistency.

If the prunes are broken down already look like a smooth paste, pour into a glass jar and let cool.

Store in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator.