Spiced Plums

This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 separate dishes – such as the Stir Fry Pork and Plum Semi-Freddo below – and can be frozen until required.

Time 25 minutes
Suitable for vegetarians, depending on usage
Suitable for freezing

Red plums 600g (1lb 6oz), halved, stoned and quartered
Ground cinnamon ¼–½ tsp
Golden caster sugar 75g (3oz)
Orange juice 3–6 tbsp

1 Tip the plums into a large heavy based pan with all the other ingredients (the amount of orange juice you use will depend on how ripe the plums are) and mix well.

2 Cook over a gentle heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring often. It is important to keep the heat very low or the cinnamon will burn and taste bitter.Cook for a further 5 minutes if necessary. The exact cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the plums – you want the mix to be tender but not mushy.

3 Then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.When cold, transfer the mixture into two freezer-proof containers, cover, label and freeze for up to 1 month.

Stir-fry Pork with Spiced Plum Sauce

Time 15 minutes plus thawing time
Calories per portion 713 Kcal
Fat per portion 16g
of which saturated 2.7g
Serves 3

Spiced plums 1 portion, thawed at room temperature for 3–4 hours or overnight in the fridge
Red wine vinegar 1–2 tbsp
Pork loin steaks 2, trimmed and cut into thin slices
Sesame oil 1 tbsp
Fresh egg noodles 385g packet
Oriental stir-fry mix 270g packet

1 Stir together the plum sauce and vinegar and then add the strips of pork.

2 Heat the sesame oil in a large wok and add the pork and plum sauce – watch out, it will sizzle a bit! Stir-fry for 5–7 minutes or until the liquid from the plums has almost evaporated.

3 Add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry for a further 3–5 minutes or until the vegetables have wilted and the pork is cooked through. Serve at once with soy sauce, if wished.

You can easily buy sesame oil in supermarkets – it adds a lovely flavour.

Plum Semi-Freddo

Time 10 minutes
Calories per portion 250 Kcal
Fat per portion 20g
of which saturated 11.3g
Serves 4
Suitable for vegetarians

Spiced plums 1 portion, still frozen
Double cream 150ml (¼ pint), lightly whipped

1 Take the plums from the freezer and remove the lid from the storage container. Microwave on high for about 10 seconds just so that you can get the plum mix out of the container.

2 Break the sauce into chunks and pop in a food processor. Then use the pulse button to cut the sauce into chunks.

3 Quickly add the chunks of sauce to the whipped cream and mix gently. Serve immediately in glasses with dessert biscuits.

You can also use the Plum Semi-Freddo as a filling for four meringue nests.

Recipes taken from Good Food, Fast: Dairy Cookbook

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