Plums Abound!

Italian plums from SLO farm are delicious, succulent and abundant! We want to share two of our favorite plum recipes to inspire you to enjoy this bounty to its utmost potential! Whether you ferment a plum vinegar, spin a plum sorbet, chop them up into a radicchio salad, throw them on the grill to accompany pork chops, or just gobble them up as is, we know that you'll love these plums as much as we do. 

Plum and Rose Petal Sorbet

This recipe is simple and easy but you do need an ice cream maker! 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lbs Italian plums, rinsed, pits removed 

1 cup white sugar 

1 cup fresh rose petals or 1/2 cup dried rose petals

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

Place the sugar in a small sauce pot and cover it with 1/2 cup of water. Warm it over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Place your rose petals in a heat proof bowl and pour the warm syrup over the rose petals. Allow it to cool completely before using, about 20 minutes.

Place all of your plums in a blender and blend them on high until they form a smooth puree. Pass the puree through a fine mesh strainer and taste it as is. Keep some of the dark skins that are left after you strain it, you can add these back in to make the sorbet a little more sour and give it a beautiful, speckled appearance. Strain the rose syrup through a fine mesh strainer and add it into the puree a little at a time. Add the cinnamon and mix well to incorporate. This is when the sorbet becomes your own, you can adjust the sweetness and tartness to your liking. Once it tastes delicious to you, spin it in an ice cream machine until it is scoops well. Place it in a Tupperware in the freezer and enjoy it all year long!

Plum and Radicchio Salad 

This simple salad is the perfect way to celebrate the transition from Summer to Fall. The end of Summer harvest of plums showered over the first chicories of Autumn accompanied by toasted hazelnuts and blue cheese make an undeniable side dish for any dinner or a perfect light lunch. 

Ingredients: 

10 Italian plums, pitted and cut into 1/2" slices

1 head radicchio, cleaned and chopped into bite size pieces

1/4 cup My Brother's Farm roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1/4# blue cheese, Fourme d'Ambert is best, Roquefort or Gorgonzola dolce are also wonderful and if you don't like blue cheese, chèvre is also delicious 

Dressing: 

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar 

1 shallot, finely diced

1 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped 

1 Tbsp honey

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1/2 tsp salt 

In a small bowl, cover the diced shallots with sherry vinegar and allow them to sit for at least ten minutes to pickle. 

Take small chunks of blue cheese and roll them in the chopped hazelnuts, this keeps the cheese from smearing all over the salad and provides delightful and surprising morsels of flavor and texture. 

Toss the shallots and vinegar with honey, black pepper, thyme and salt and mix well to dissolve the honey. Once the honey is dissolved, add the olive oil. Combine the plums and radicchio and toss them in the dressing. Taste for seasoning. Plate the salad in a large salad bowl and top it with the blue cheese hazelnut morsels and any additional chopped hazelnuts. Fresh mint is also wonderful in this salad but not necessary. Enjoy!