Author Martha Holmberg is a plum obsessive--she's been cooking with plums for decades and now grows plum trees in her North Portland backyard. With plums as her muse, Holmberg writes about the fruit's versatility for the ninth volume of Short Stack, a collection of small-format, hand-bound cookbooks, each devoted to a single ingredient.
Recipes like Little Birds with Rye-Plum Stuffing reveal how well plums play with savory ingredients like onions, herbs, and all meat and poultry. That recipe calls for Cornish game hens, but could also work with chicken, duck, or a small turkey. Baked Plums with Savory Cheese Streusel adds the sweet, buttery flavor of a streusel topping to a savory first course or light lunch. If you're tired of preserving plums for jams and chutneys, try making the Rosemary-Plum Shrub. A shrub, or drinking vinegar, is a base for homemade sodas or summer cocktails.
We asked Holmberg for five fresh ways to eat plums right now. Easier than recipes, these steps are almost as simple as devouring them over the sink, but infinitely more fun.
Make a savory salad. Cut plums into chunks. Toss in a bowl with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, sprinkle of dried chile flakes, salt, cilantro and mint leaves. Let this sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Brûlée plums for breakfast. Cut some plums in half and remove the pits. Arrange in a shallow baking dish, cut-side up, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Broil. Serve with a big spoonful of Greek yogurt for breakfast.
Sauté to make a topping for chops. Sauté some chopped fresh green chiles (remove the seeds first to bring down the spiciness, if you like). Add some minced garlic and stir for a few seconds, then toss in some plum wedges and cook until they are just turning tender. Season with salt, smoked paprika, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Serve over grilled pork chops or pork tenderloin.
Make a grain salad. Toss cooked, cooled farro with diced plums, fresh mint and parsley, and chopped almonds. Season generously with sherry vinegar, salt and pepper, and olive oil.
Bake a dessert. Roll out a sheet of frozen puff pastry to make a big thin rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and arrange thinly sliced plums over it. Brush the fruit lightly with maple syrup, sprinkle with turbinado (or white) sugar and bake at 375F until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbly.