I got the most glorious plums recently.
A lot of them (because they looked so good!).
However, there’s just two of us and rare visitors, two at a time, and there are just so many plums a person can eat!
Some of the fruit started to soften and I made some barbecue sauce with those.
Before the others met the same fate, I simmered them with some brown sugar, cinnamon, orange peel and just a few whole black peppercorns to jazz up the flavor. The sauce is vaguely hot, but not overly spicy.
Eat these lightly cooked plums plain, drizzled with some of the poaching fluids, and/or with whipped cream, heavy cream, ice cream, sorbet, sour cream, yogurt, mascarpone cheese, goat cheese — all good.
Bonus: this recipe is amazingly quick and easy.
Simmered Plums with Orange and Pepper
1/2 cup brown sugar
2” cinnamon stick
2 2-inch strips orange peel
16 peppercorns
6-8 medium plums, cut in half, pits removed
Place the sugar, 1-1/2 cups water, cinnamon stick, orange peel and peppercorns in a saucepan large enough to hold the plums. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the plums. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the plum skins split and the fruit is tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let the plums cool in the syrup. Serve the plums with some of the poaching liquid.
Makes 4–6 servings.