I bought a small box of these little guys last week at the farmer's market. I have no idea what they're called (if you do, I'd love to know), but each is a little bigger than a cherry tomato - about the same size as those "cocktail tomatoes". They're only slightly sweet, nicely tangy near the skin, but overall just so-so. There were eight left on the counter when they fell under my gaze and I decided it was time to use them up.
I made a spontaneous little crumble mixture without consulting a cookbook. I measured things only so that it might be repeatable should it be successful. And, as will become apparent when you read further, the measurements were decided upon with simplicity in mind rather than any culinary imperative. Sometimes I luck out with this slap dash approach (sometimes I don't - I am in the midst of my second attempt at my IMBB creation, which I'm not sure will even get done in time, let alone taste good) and this was one of those times.
Who knew those little plums would be such tangy wonders once they were baked? I was afraid the ratio of crumble to plum was a little too high, but it's perfect. I had meant to add nuts, but forgot. I don't miss them, but I still think they would be a nice addition.
Plum Crumble
8 little plums, pitted and cut up
about 1 1/2 tsp cold butter
2 tbs flour
2 tbs oatmeal
2 tbs light brown sugar
a pinch or two of cinnamon
a few grates of nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 F
Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers. Add the oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and rub a little more to combine. Put the plums in a small baking dish (I have stonewear dishes, so I used a soup bowl), sprinkle 2 tbs of the oatmeal mixture over, and toss to combine. (At this point I was thinking I should have put in a bit more cinnamon, so I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar over the top.) Spread the remaining oatmeal mixture over the top of the fruit. Bake for about 25 minutes or until thick, bubbly, and starting to brown on top.
4 comments:
Oooh, that sounds great Cathy! I would love to give this a try...I have a few extra apricots on hand...would they work just as well as plums, do you think?
Hi Alice - thanks! I'm sure it would - this probably isn't that different from many other crumble toppings, so I think just about any fruit would work. You'll know best based on how they taste, but maybe you'd want to add a little squirt of lemon juice to the apricots. It sounds like it would be delicious, though!
Those little plums look like a fruit we had in Germany. It's called a Mirabelle. But it could simply be a yellow plum as well.
Bea
I know this is late, but I thought if you were still wondering, I should let you know. I have some of those plums (with which I am making a seat of the pants maple almond plum crumble) from an orchard near my New Hampshire home. The plums in the picture are a spitting image of the SHIRO plums I bought. The description matches too. A bit sweet, a bit tart, very juicy, sort of lacking in flavor when fresh, and about as big as a cherry tomato. Hope it still helps.
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