A perfectly ripe plum of the perfect variety, harvested on the perfect summer day, shipped and stored in the perfect way and delivered to you when you are in the perfect frame of mind to enjoy it — this is a rare pleasure.
When you hit upon this set of circumstances, there's only one thing to do. Rinse this heavenly fruit under cold running water, gently pat it dry, then lean far out over the sink and gobble it in huge, dripping bites. Anything else is superfluous.
But for even the canniest fruit picker, this confluence of perfection comes only a couple of times a summer. So what are you supposed to do when the fruit gods haven't delivered the ultimate?
Cookbooks, oddly enough, aren't much help. Plum recipes are even scarcer than perfect plums. Even the sources usually most reliable include only a couple. Most ignore them altogether.
The situation is so extreme it borders on the conspiratorial. There is not a single dish that uses plums in the "Joy of Cooking." Nor was there one in an old "Fannie Farmer" or in Madeleine Kamman's "The Making of a Cook."
As usual, Julia Child can be relied upon — there are two recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." That's a bounty by plum standards.
The new "Chez Panisse Fruit" by Alice Waters (HarperCollins, $34.95), so admirable in many ways, adds insult to this grievous injury. Of the seven recipes included in the plum chapter, three are for prunes!
It's hard not to take it personally, and in fact, maybe that's exactly what it is. Plums, like certain people, are a little too, well, definite for easy appreciation. While peaches and pears, apples and strawberries are pleasantly convivial, lending themselves to all sorts of endeavors, plums are acerbic. They are tart, often nearly to the point of astringency.
There is no mistaking a dish that contains plums; no "Oh, this is nice — what is it?" When you're served a plum dessert, you know it.
But since when was assertiveness a bad thing⢠While plums might be out of favor with those who prefer fruit sweet and easygoing, they are magical when combined with ingredients confident enough to hold their own.
Plums also are a great boon to cooks. They don't need to be peeled (indeed, much of the pucker is in the peel — removing it will make them sweeter but less plum-like). You can just whittle them straight into the mixing bowl. Best of all, unless a plum is really ripe, it will have a near-perfect balance of pectin, sugar and acidity, turning into jam at a hot glance with no need for thickeners.
There are two ways to deal with a plum's assertive nature: Either complement it, or play against it. (Although there are hundreds of plum varieties and they come in different colors, for the purposes of recipes, they're pretty much interchangeable.)
To complement a plum, think of things it tastes like. Cotes du Rhone, the big red wines from Southern France, usually are described as "plummy," but other common adjectives are "spicy" and "peppery." Plums not only do well poached in red wine, they also are improved by a generous hand with cloves, cinnamon and even black pepper. (Rhones also are frequently described as "leathery" but, somehow in a dessert, this does not appeal.)
You also can go the other way, using flavors that are definite enough to stand toe-to-toe with plums without backing down. Be cautious here: While assertiveness is needed, if it's not carefully considered, you could wind up with strong flavors that do nothing but clash.
Cornmeal Buckle with Plums
A buckle is an old-fashioned American dessert, so named, supposedly, because of the way the center collapses when it is removed from the oven. This recipe is a twist on a boysenberry and peach buckle from the newest revision of "Joy of Cooking" (Scribner, $30). Replacing some of the flour with cornmeal provides a bittersweet complement to the tart-sweet plums.
- For the topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter, cut into tablespoons
For the Cornmeal Buckle:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk, divided
- 1 pound plums (about 4), cut up
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate and set it aside.
To make the topping : In a food processor, pulse together the sugar, flour, salt and butter until the pieces are the size of coarse crumbs. Set aside.
To make the Cornmeal Buckle : Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter with the sugar and egg until it is fairly light and fluffy. Add half of the milk and beat until smooth. Gradually add the remaining milk while beating.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until well-moistened. It will be the texture of cake batter. Fold in the plum pieces. Pour the batter into the pie plate and spread evenly. Scatter the topping mixture evenly over the top.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. (If you serve the buckle the next day, warm it briefly in the microwave before serving.)
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Nutrition information per serving ( 1/8 recipe): 412 calories, 13 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 59 milligrams cholesterol, 5 grams protein, 70 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 468 milligrams sodium.
Plum-Almond Galette
Galettes are carefree tarts. They are homey and casual and open to all kinds of improvisation. Because the plums are so much on display here, their sweetness is critical. Taste them and adjust the amount of sugar accordingly. They should be tart, but not bitingly so. If the fruit is extra ripe and juicy, scatter a couple of tablespoons of ground almonds between the crust and the fruit to absorb the moisture.
- For the dough:
- 1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for kneading
- 1/3 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
For the assembly:
- 1 pound plums (about 4), cut up
- 1 to 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
To make the dough : Grind 1 1/4 cups flour, the almonds, 1 tablespoon sugar and the salt in a food processor until the almonds are fine. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture is the texture of coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of ice water over the dry ingredients and pulse 4 or 5 times. If the mixture begins to come together, stop. Otherwise, keep sprinkling the ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulsing until a dough begins to form.
Remove the dough from the food processor, and quickly and lightly knead on a floured work surface into a solid mass. Press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To assemble : Combine the plums and 1 to 3 tablespoons coarse sugar in a work bowl and toss well to mix. Set aside at room temperature until the dough is chilled.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rough circle about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet.
Drain any accumulated liquid from the plums. Spoon the plums into the center of the dough. Fold the outside 2 inches of the dough circle toward the center to make a hexagon, leaving the inner 4 or 5 inches of plums uncovered.
Scatter the almonds across the plums, then scatter 1 tablespoon coarse sugar over the plums and the pastry.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry has browned and the plums are cooked through.
Makes 6 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 336 calories, 20 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 5 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams dietary fiber, 255 milligrams sodium.
