After I harvested 40 or so pounds of plums the other weekend, I felt done with plums--so over stirring plum jam, content with the amount of plum butter in the pantry, and ready to move on.
But I didn't know that Italian prune season hadn't even begun yet. And seriously, they fall from the sky into the kitchen, and I just can't seem to say no or give them to the pigs.
Italian prunes, happily, are much simpler to process than the clingstone plums we've worked through earlier this summer. They are freestone, which means you make one short slit with a knife, pull the halves open with your fingers, and pluck out the pit.
Lsat night, we started a dehydrator full of them. Today, more plum butter. Both of those are starting to feel routine, but the plum compote Tim suggested we make last night has reinspired my feelings about plums. I do love plums. We used it on salmon, and tonight I think I'll try it again with goat. It's sweet and tart at the same time, and would be delicious on anything from chicken to pork to steak. Best of all, unlike dehydrated plums and plum butter, it takes barely any time to make.
Start by dicing up some plums. Maybe three to four per person.
Put them in a small sauce pan, and add a glug of red wine, enough to cover the bottom.
Throw some diced onion and a sprinkle of salt on top. Cover and simmer over medium-high heat for three minutes, until the plums are soft. Take off the lid and simmer for another three or four minutes, until you can drag a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and the red wine won't rush back in to fill the gap. The onions will be somewhat al dente, which I liked as a contrast to the soft and collapsing plums.
Stir in a pat of butter, and serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment