Recipes Baby Root Vegetable Stew with Black Tea Prunes Be the first to rate & review! This elegant vegetable recipe is a simplified version of a dish David Kinch serves at his restaurant, Manresa, in Los Gatos, California. The stew combines tender carrots and turnips with black tea–soaked prunes in a flavorful soy sauce broth. By David Kinch David Kinch Instagram A New Orleans native, chef David Kinch got his start as a 16-year-old cook at Commander's Palace in 1977. He graduated from Johnson & Wales Culinary Academy in Providence, and spent much of the next two decades racking up kitchen experience around the world. He staged in Europe—at L'Espérance in St-Père-en-Vézelay, France, and Akelarre in San Sebastián, Spain, among other places—and consulted on an American restaurant at the Hotel Clio Court in Fukuoka, Japan. After working in New York, Kinch decamped to the West Coast, eventually opening his flagship, Manresa, in 1992. David Kinch has forged a distinctive culinary career path leading to the opening of Manresa and putting him at the forefront of new contemporary California cuisine. Kinch's driving force for his daily work remains the satisfaction he gets from cooking. "Very simply, I love doing this," he says. "My great pleasure is people being incredibly happy with their experience at the restaurant." Kinch's culinary philosophy is fostered by the terroir, or the "sense of place" of the California Coast, and the kind of ingredient-driven cooking and modern technique he has studied around the world. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 23, 2015 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Active Time: 50 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Yield: 8 Ingredients 4 ounces pitted prunes (1 cup) 2 cups strong, brewed black tea 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 3/4 pound baby carrots, quartered lengthwise 2 small turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges Salt and freshly ground pepper 3/4 pound radishes, quartered if large 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 large thyme sprig Lemon wedges, for serving Directions In a small saucepan, cover the prunes with the tea and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand until the prunes are plump, about 1 hour. Drain the prunes and discard the tea. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet. Add the carrots and turnips and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, just until heated through, 2 minutes. Add enough water to cover the vegetables by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until tender, 7 minutes. Drain the vegetables. In a medium saucepan, cover the radishes with the chicken stock and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the radishes are tender, 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the potatoes and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the prunes, carrots, turnips and the radishes with their cooking liquid and season with salt and pepper. Add the thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig. Serve with lemon wedges. Make Ahead The stew can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently. Rate it Print