Devils on Horseback on Toast

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Baking tray
• •Baking parchment
• •Sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the prunes

   Put the prunes in a small bowl and pour over the brandy. Cover and leave them for at least an hour, though overnight is better. They'll swell and soften and turn the colour of old mahogany. The kitchen will smell of Christmas before you've turned the oven on.

   Use decent brandy. Not the good stuff you'd drink from a glass, but not the sort you wouldn't. The prunes soak it up entirely, so you'll taste it.
2. 2

   Stuff the prunes

   Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Drain the prunes, saving any remaining brandy for later. Make a small opening in each prune where the stone was and push an almond inside. Don't be delicate about it. The prune should close around the nut and hold it there.

3. 3

   Wrap in bacon

   Take each half rasher of bacon and stretch it slightly with the back of a knife along a chopping board. This thins it out and stops it from shrinking into a tight curl under the heat. Wrap each stuffed prune in a piece of bacon, tucking the loose end underneath. Lay them seam-side down on a baking tray lined with parchment. Grind black pepper over the top. No salt. The bacon brings plenty.

   Streaky bacon, not back. You need the fat to render and baste the prune as it cooks. Back bacon dries out and fights you.
4. 4

   Roast until crisp

   Roast for twelve to fifteen minutes, turning once halfway through. You're looking for the bacon to go deeply golden and slightly caramelised at the edges, the fat rendered and glossy, the prunes swollen and starting to split their seams. If you've got a few thyme sprigs, throw them onto the tray for the last five minutes. The leaves will crisp in the bacon fat and smell extraordinary.

5. 5

   Make the toast

   While the devils are in the oven, toast the bread properly. Not pale and warm. Toast it until it's golden and firm enough to hold its cargo without collapsing. Butter it generously while it's still hot, so the butter melts into every crack.

6. 6

   Assemble and serve

   Pile three devils onto each slice of buttered toast. Spoon over any sticky, bacony juices from the tray. If there's a tablespoon of the soaking brandy left, tip it onto the hot tray, let it sizzle and catch the caramelised bits, and drizzle that over too. Eat immediately. This is not food that waits.

Chef Tips

• •Good prunes make all the difference. Look for the large, soft Agen prunes if you can find them. They're plump and sticky and soak up brandy like they were made for the purpose. The small, hard ones from the baking aisle aren't the same thing at all.
• •Soak the prunes the night before if you can. An hour will do at a push, but overnight gives you something richer and more saturated. The brandy has time to get right into the fruit, and the prunes turn almost jammy.
• •This is the sort of thing that wants port. A tawny, not too fine, slightly chilled if you like. The sweetness of the port and the sweetness of the prune hold hands, and the bacon keeps the whole thing honest.
• •If you're making these for a party, you can stuff and wrap the prunes hours ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. They roast from cold just as well. Add a minute or two to the cooking time and watch the bacon rather than the clock.

Advance Preparation

• •Prunes can be soaked in brandy up to two days ahead. Keep them covered in the fridge. The longer they sit, the better they taste.
• •The prunes can be stuffed and wrapped in bacon up to six hours before cooking. Keep them covered on the baking tray in the fridge and roast when you're ready.
• •These are best eaten straight from the oven. They don't reheat well. The bacon softens and the toast goes limp. Make them at the last minute and eat them standing up if you have to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)