These plums were calling to me last Saturday at the Jackson Hole Farmers Market on the Town Square. Arriving promptly at 8, I made a beeline for Sloan Andrew's stand, and my favorite selection of stone fruit in the Valley.
As I carefully chose a dozen or so fragrant plums, I couldn't help but imagine a plum pie, a tart, a crisp, a crumble, or maybe even a buckle.
Sloan Andrews, purveyor of fine fruit and vegetables. Find her on the Town Square on Saturday mornings, or at her own Farmers' Market stand by Twigs on Thursdays and Fridays.
Towards the end of the stone fruit season, look for these Satsuma plums at Sloan's stand.
Most of my stone fruit purchases start out this way, only to be sabotaged by the inherent laziness of summer. As the fruit ripens on my kitchen counter (never in the fridge), and I vacillate between intense bursts of athletic energy and lollygagging around the house with my favorite book, the fruit ends up being slurped down over the sink, with the juices dripping off my elbows, until there's none left to make a nice dessert.
Hanneke with Lazily Roasted Plums (and Nectarines) ready to pop in the oven, as Albert does his best to beg a taste.
Hence, the Lazily Roasted Plums. This dish is almost as easy as not cooking at all, yet when offered to friends at the end of a busy summer day, it prompts much ooohing and aahing. Plums + vanilla + a splash of brandy + the squeeze of an orange will have that effect on people. Especially if you serve the deep purply plums with green tea ice cream with ginger (store bought, given the lazy theme).
If your plums are not perfectly ripe, then you will have some difficulty, like I did, removing the pits.
If you find that your plums are not perfectly ripe, just add a dash more sugar, and cook them a tad longer.
You don't even need to use plums; any ripe stone fruit that is quietly ripening on your kitchen counter will do. Nectarines, apricots, and peaches are all likely candidates.
Nectarines quietly waiting to be made into something spectacular.
Do not deflect the compliments when your friends are wowed by your Lazily Roasted Plums. You could have taken a nap, and then slurped down the ripe plums once upright. Instead you took 15 minutes to throw together this quintessential midsummer dessert.
Lazily Roasted Plums with Reed's Green Tea Ginger Ice Cream.
For a printable version of the recipe, click on the file below it.
Lazily Roasted Plums
Inspired by a recipe for Stewed Fruit in Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes, a book I checked out of the Teton County Library in June which is way, way overdue.
Serves 6
Serves 6
- 18 ripe plums, or a mixtures of plums, apricots, and nectarines
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1 orange, juiced and zested
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
- splash of brandy (or Grand Marnier or Cointreau, optional)
- vanilla ice cream or Reed's green tea and ginger ice cream
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Halve and stone the plums, and toss them into an ovenproof baking dish.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract, the sugar, the orange juice and zest, and the cinnamon stick halves, and lazily toss.
- Add the optional (but highly recommended) splash of brandy and toss again, lazily.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the fruit is all bubbly and soft.
- Serve with ice cream for dessert, or yogurt for a lazy breakfast.
| lazily_roasted_plums_________jacksonholefoodie.docx |
Here, Lazily Roasted Plums makes an encore appearance at breakfast, with Greek honey yogurt.
