Red Wine Poached Plums
This recipe is so versatile, it can be used as the base for so many other things.
I like them on their own warm with custard or cream for pudding, but you can also use them cold as a breakfast dish with yogurt, or as the base of an ice lolly (post coming soon), or to accompany meat (I like it with rack of lamb). You can also use it as a part of a larger pudding, in a tart or crumble.
If you don’t have the spices I use here use what you have, its also great with cloves and vanilla.
What you'll need
2 Cups of Red Wine
¼ Cup of Fraise des Bois
12 Small Red Plums
2 Small Cinnamon sticks
3 Whole Star Anise
5 Cloves
¼ Cup of Caster Sugar
- Half the plums and remove the stones.
- Combine all the ingredients in a pan and mix so that the sugar is dissolving evenly.
- Place on the hob on a very low heat for 1 hour, stirring lightly during the cooking time. (you can also do this in a low oven on about 80-100ºC)
- The plums should be cooked but still whole by the end of the process, the skin should just be peeling.
- Remove the plums from the sauce and set aside, then bring the sauce to the boil and reduce to make a syrupy glaze. (if you are making them as an accompany to meat, add the roasting meat juices to make a jus)
Try Peaches or Apricots
You can also apply the principles to peaches and other stoned fruit.
For Peaches I use Elderflower Champagne instead of Red Wine – but you could use White Wine or Muscat (White Desert Wine) and then add some Elderflower Cordial.
For Apricots I use Earl Grey Tea and Muscat.
