Plumptious Plums!

I received a present this week of 2kgs of plums – ripe and luscious – surely this can't be right – it only seems like last week since the last harvest!

Not that I'm complaining at all.

Thinking cap on … I think I'll roast them. I like roasting fruits, not like the old fashioned way of fruit, sugar and water and boiled within an inch of its life. Roasting gives you the fruit and sugar balanced so that there's an edge to your cooked fruit and the most mouthwatering intense syrup – a perfect base for a crumble. Hmm … pecans go very well with plums.

Anyway, before we get to grips with the recipes themselves, a thought or three about prepping your plums. Laborious I know, but necessary – a bit like standing with a mountain of ironing and to avoid losing the plot completely any distraction is welcome, for example watching absolute drivel on the television.

Before we get to the television stage, wash your plums and dry on kitchen roll. Kit required – a tea towel, a large bowl, a pair of clear vinyl gloves – the sort used in food prep and a sharp (paring) knife.

Line the bowl with kitchen roll and decant your washed plums - two thirds full will be comfortable – for the 2kgs I filled my bowl twice.

Take your bowl, with plums, your gloves, paring knife and the tea towel - to place on your lap - choose your favourite “guilty pleasure” television programme and sit! Slice a plum in half, follow the natural line in the fruit, right around the stone – twist each half of the plum in opposite directions and then remove the stone. Some will be easier than others to extract – not every fruit ripens at the same time. Discard the stones underneath the kitchen roll.

You'll be surprised how quickly they're ready to roast and no aching back.

Recipes next.

Another missive from my friend M …

… some of you regular readers may remember the piece “Some things are meant to be” which gave feedback in the way of an email received after a class.

Here's M's most recent email with her comments on the latest class ...

… “I will never think of a PPS again as just for Christmas – it's for life!!!! Pizza puffs, Cheese Straws and Cheese and Potato Slice, so versatile, all wolfed down. The jam jar meal I thought was fun, a talking point with guests and great for picnics or a day out so I'm busy saving my jam pots.

Now for the “piece de résistance” Lemon Tiramisu … saw that on the blog and I thought really the Mary Berry one that I do is a real favourite with friends and family, so I will probably stick to that recipe … sorry, Mary (my idol for nearly 50 years) has been thrown out of the window … Marion's Lemon Tiramisu is truly memorable and definitely lip smackingly good!!!! I've told friends that will be their dessert on their next visit … forthcoming attraction so to speak!!!!

For those not in the know, a PPS is a puff pastry sheet!

… and a comment from my friend Shirl the day after the “Summer Salad” … “Fab, fab and fabulous meal last night”.

Hurray for forward planning and a definite thumbs up for the summer (aka creaking table) salad!

Summer Salad - Hints and Tips

Always remove beef and steaks – in this case the sliced fillet tail from the fridge ahead of cooking to allow it to reach room temperature.

**You don't have to use tail fillet of beef. Try smoked chicken fillet instead.

A quick reminder of a really quick way to achieve a “smoked” flavour, poach chicken fillets in chicken stock (I'd use a Knorr jelly stock pot) for 10 minutes or so (depending on the size of the fillets) then allow the fillets to cool in the stock, covered of course. (Homage again the The Ivy The Restaurant and its Recipes by AA Gill)

Take a minute or two to decide on your serving dishes and cutlery. Here's what I mean, the photos below of the mediterranean style bowls, some with lids, make life really easy since you can decant ahead - olives as an example - into serving dishes – cling film and you're ready to serve. You can lay your table with all your dishes with the exception of the hot stuff right at the last minute.

                                         

These forks are perfect for spearing olives not to mention the potatoes – try out a potato as a new dipping partner for Camembert. They are actually dessert forks - £3.25 for six from IKEA – called MARTROP – they measure approximately 14cms long.

Boring I know but life is so much easier with a little forward planning and this way you can enjoy a well deserved glass of something nice, cold and fizzy with your friends!

I can hear you … how much food was leftover? There were leftovers – some of The Stir Fry, antipasto and the salad bits and pieces – was it wasted – a big fat no. Lunch the following day for us and a takeaway for friends too.

Result!

Summer Salad ...

… The hot stuff!

On the day your last minute tasks are :

Roast your baby new potatoes – pre-heat your oven

180fan/200c/Gas 6. The potatoes should be of a similar

and will take 20/25 minutes – set your timer for 10 minutes

and then,

Bake the Camembert – it will take 15 minutes

Roast and bake both the above in foil trays – no washing up!

Whilst they are both working their magic, finish off the Stir Fry

and cook the scallops, prawns and chorizo

The Stir Fry in the wok

Heat the chorizo oil left in the wok, if you feel there may not be sufficient

oil then add a drop of olive oil Seal the thin slices of fillet on

both sides – seconds only – set aside.

Fry the onion, garlic and peppers then add the diced potatoes

until warmed through. Add the chorizo and asparagus and then the fillet.

Season with salt and black pepper and fold in a dessert spoon of mayo

you want a coating, not saturated - you can always add more,

you can't take it away – serve in the wok straight to the table.

The Scallops et al in the frying pan

Heat the chorizo oil until it's quite hot, think of a clock face –

in other words begin at 12 o'clock and place the scallops in a circle

in the pan - when you've place the last scallop begin to turn again. Add

the prawns, toss in the oil with the scallops and finish adding

the cooked chorizo. Serve on a warmed plate and drizzle with

a drop of maple syrup.

It's important that you start your stir fry before your scallops – there are more ingredients albeit they won't need a lot of cooking, this will give you time to heat your chorizo oil to cook your scallops and prawns and then the chorizo.

All you need is your kitchen timer and synchronise the oven and the hob – potatoes and Camembert in the oven and The Stir Fry and the scallops on the hob!

Straight to the table, dive in and enjoy!

Summer Salad - The day before

The day before - Friday

If you've bought your tail fillet ahead and

frozen it, take it out of the freezer and fridge it to defrost

Cook the new potatoes for the Stir Fry – cool, peel

and cube, then bag and fridge

De-seed and slice the peppers, bag and fridge

Roast the Honey Roasted Beetroot then

cool, cover and fridge

On the day – Saturday morning

Slice the tail fillet wafer thin - box, cover and then

fridge until required

Take scallops and prawns from the freezer – 5 medium

scallops per person and 50g frozen prawns per person

- box separately to defrost in the fridge

Snap and trim the asparagus to a similar size, blanch

in cold, iced water – dry, box and fridge

Fry 250g chorizo in a wok for the Stir Fry and set aside – cool, box and fridge

leave the oil in the wok, covered. The chorizo should just begin to

crisp

In a frying pan fry 125g of diced chorizo for the scallops, as above

- set aside – cool, box and fridge

No trouble at all!

Summer Salad … The Stir Fry

This recipe is also perfect if you are expecting guests but don't know what time they are arriving – you want to spend time with them when they do so a dish that enables you to prep ahead, taking minutes to stir fry and serve immediately, has to be the answer.

There are no given amounts – you can expand it as you wish and I've given ideas for alternatives along the way.

Baby New Potatoes

Cook until firm and then peel. When cooled cut into similar sized cubes. An ideal way of using up leftovers too.

Red Onion

One medium as a guide, chopped finely

Baby Sweet Peppers

Available at most supermarkets usually between

200-300g packets - £2.00 per 300g as a guide – I used

approximately half

Garlic

A clove, crushed or 1 tsp of garlic paste

Veggie options

Asparagus tips – snap to remove the “wooden” ends then trim so that they are all of a similar size. Blanch them in boiling water for a minute or two then plunge into a bowl of iced water. Drain the asparagus and wipe off any excess water with kitchen towel. Box and fridge until required.

You could use fresh peas or broad beans, podded and blanched as above. Don't forget to peel the outer skin from the broad beans.

Mange tout, sugar snap peas and baby corn will all work well – treat the same way as the asparagus – make sure they are of a similar size so they cook evenly.

**Tail fillet of beef

The tail fillet is each end of the whole fillet – they are thinner and so

not evenly sized as is the middle portion.

If you are fortunate enough to have a “real” butcher if you ask

nicely he'll have tail fillet which is cheaper than the middle cut.

Chorizo

One loop of chorizo sausage, peeled and then sliced at an angle. You can use

diced chorizo which is probably more convenient since all the

work is done for you which is what I used – 250g.

At this point you are ready to rock and roll so you can walk away and wait until your guests arrive, the whole dish takes about 10 minutes, max.

Seasoning and Dressing

You'll need salt and black pepper and Farrington's Mellow Yellow Mayonnaise to complete the dish.

The perfect addition to my creaking salad table and an added bonus of a stir fry recipe which is good enough to stand alone for a lunch or a supper.

Good value I think!

Summer Salad - Menu

I get a huge amount of pleasure in planning a menu and can recommend sitting with a pad and pen with a glass of something nice and scribbling away.

Here's the result :

For the fish lovers

Scallops with diced chorizo and a drizzle of maple syrup

For the meat lover(s)

The Stir Fry

For Everyone!

Smoked salmon with lemon

Antipasto -

Parma ham, extra mature Salami Milano

and bresaola

Roasted baby new potatoes

Baked Camembert (stapled boxes, not glued)

I used “Le Rustique” – 250g £2 and baked two

Honey roasted beetroot

(the recipe is on the blog)

Sliced beef tomatoes drizzled with Balsamic

vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Shredded lettuce – whatever variety is the

favourite

Quails eggs

Whole black olives

Ciabatta with Balsamic and Olive Oil for dipping

Coleslaw

Salt, black pepper and mayo

This will do nicely!