Summer Fest is back again and stone fruits are the theme. To participate, read more about Summer Fest on Away To Garden from Margaret then come join the community! Catch up on this seasons previous themes on the bounty of Cukes N Zukes , Sweet Corn and Herbs, Beans, Greens.
We love pluots (that delectable plum/apricot cross). They are a wonderful creation of the Zaiger family which has inundated Farmers’ Markets, fine grocers and backyards everywhere. Flavor Grenades, Dapple Dandys (aka Dinosaur Eggs), Flavor Kings and Queens. They have the light tartness of a plum, the firmness of a great plum, but the mellowed sweetness of flesh more reminiscent of an apricot.
Rarely do the pluots we buy (gardening side-note: we are growing Dapple Dandies but they’ve yet to produce. Hopefully next year as the tree has settled in and has grown quite nicely this summer) make it past the grab and eat junction, but occasionally we get to make a summer-perfect dessert with them.
One of our favorite desserts to make with pluots is to poach them in a semi-dry Riesling, drizzle some caramel sauce over them, then add a luscious dollop of whipped cream to finish things off perfectly (there’s that word again. Some may not have heard cookies described as luscious before 
but there should be no question that fresh whipped cream deserves “luscious” as a descriptive!)
The poaching gently softens the pluots, plus slightly sweetening them with the complimenting flavors of agave nectar (honey, sugar, or palm sugar are all doable substitutes). Then the caramel sauce is made from some of the reserved poaching liquid, tying its flavor to the poached pluots. Finally a dollop of freshly made whipped cream adds a cool, creamy counterpoint to the pluots.
If you’ve yet to experience a pluot, run to your nearest Farmer’s Market or exceptional grocer and try them. They are gems alongside their other wonderful brethren in the stone fruit family. If fresh, chin dripping pluots are old hat to you, maybe have a little fun and try this recipe to finish off that warm summer night’s meal.
-Todd
Print This Recipe
Poached Pluots (or Plums) w/ Riesling served with Caramel Sauce & Whipped Cream
Adjust the sweetener of poaching liquid to the the sweetness or tartness of your pluots or plums. Agave nectar gives a perfect flavor compliment to the pluots and riesling but sometimes is hard to find. Feel free to substitute honey or sugar to sweeten the poaching liquid. Serves 4-6.
2 lbs (910g) Pluots, or plums, split in half and pitted
2 c (470ml) semid-dry Riesling
3/4 c (225g) Agave Nectar or Honey, or 1 c(200g) Sugar
zest strips of 1/2 Orange
sprig of thyme
Caramel Sauce
1 c (200g) Sugar
Whipped Cream
1 c (235ml) Heavy Whipping Cream
1 T (10g) Confectioners’ Sugar
1/2 t (3ml) Vanilla Extract
1. Poach Pluots. Combine Riesling, sweetener (agave nectar, honey, or sugar) in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add pluots in a single layer (poach in batches according to how many your saucepan can hold) and poach until your desired softness (usually about 5-10 min.) Set aside to cool. Strain & reserve poaching liquid.
2. Make Caramel Sauce. Add 1/2 c of reserved poaching liquid and 1 c of sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until it just starts to smoke and develops that perfect caramel scent (normally you can tell by the color but the poaching liquid darkens the sauce & your nose is your best judge of doneness.) Add another 1/2 c of reserved poaching liquid to the caramel to thin it out (be very careful! It will hiss and piss and is a bit volatile. Hardly any burn is worse than a caramel burn!) Stir to combine. Strain any sugar chunks out of sauce & reserve.
3. Make Whipped Cream. Combine heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whip to soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve pluots.
4. To serve, plate a couple pluots per serving on small plates. Pour caramel sauce over pluots and top with a nice dollop of whipped cream.
Summer Fest is back for its 3rd year! And we’re happy to be participating again thanks to Margaret Roach and Deb Puchalla, the creators of Summer Fest.
This great annual cross-blog event celebrates the peak harvest season where we all share recipes or growing tips for all our harvest fresh ingredients and produce. Everyone is encouraged to participate by sharing a recipe or tip each Wednesday’s specific theme the the event ends.
Summer fest is a community celebration of shared cooking and gardening tips. All you have to do is contribute a post based on the weekly theme and share your links on all the host bloggers who are collaborating in Summer Fest. If you don’t have a full post, you share your comments too! Leaving your link will allow everyone in the Summer Fest community to feast on your creations.
For complete Summer Fest information & schedule, visit Margaret at Away to Garden.
And here is the most recent list for this weeks stone fruit recipes from all the hosts!
After writing your post, please visit all the host blogs and leave your link to share & follow on Twitter :
- Away to Garden with Margaret Roach @MargaretRoach
- Scripps/Food Network with Deb Puchalla @DebPuchalla
- Healthy Eats, Food Network Blog with Elizabeth Gray @healthyeats
- Food Network Dish & Cooking Channel, Kirsten Vala and Sara Levine, @foodnetwork, @cookingchannel, @Kirstenvala
- Cooking Channel Devour The Blog with Michelle Buffardi, @mbuffardi
- Food2 Blog with Alison Sickelka, @ali_s
- Just A Taste with Kelly Senyei, @justataste
- Food Philosophy with Jennifer Iannolo, @foodphilosophy
- Remarkable Palate with Chef Mark Tafoya, @chefmark
- Alice Q Foodie with Alice, @aliceqfoodie
- Pinch My Salt with Nicole, @pinchmysalt
- Caroline Wright Food with Caroline, @chefcaroline
- San Diego Food Stuff with Caron Golden, @carondg
- Sweet Nicks with Cate O’Malley
- Gluten Free Girl with Shauna and Danny Ahern, @glutenfreegirl
- The Sister Project with Paige Smith Orloff, @paigeorloff
- Tea and Cookies with Tara Weaver , @tea_austen
- Eat From the Ground Up with Alana Chernila, @edability
- Tigress in a Pickle with Tigress
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{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
What I love is the many different varieties of pluots out there. And Apriums. And Plumcots. I used to just graze up and down all the fruit stands at the farmer’s markets during Summer. Ah, bliss!
beautifull colors
You had me at riesling.
What a gorgeous summer dish…! The colors are fabulous…and I’m sure this tastes pretty amazing too…love perfect summer produce – especially with some wine, caramel and cream!
For Summer Fest: The peaches from our CSA just seem to get eaten – they are so good. No opportunities to cook with them.
Since blackberries and stone fruits are both members of the rose family, I thought I would share my blackberry recipes.
I have two pies made by different methods.
No. 1 is good for making and eating right away.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-pie-no-1.html
No. 2 is good for freezing.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-pie-no-2.html
I also made blackberry ice cream.
http://purplecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/blackberry-ice-cream.html
These look incredible! I love this combination.. My recipe this week is for Pork and Plum Skewers
http://www.ingredientsinc.net/2010/08/summer-fest-and-stone-fruits-pork-and-plum-skewers/
Mmmm, I think the whole thing looks luscious!
This week, I made peaches baked with blue cheese: http://4seasonsoffood.blogspot.com/2010/08/peaches-baked-with-blue-cheese.html
I just drooled!!! Oh my. I will be making this soon.
As the Flexitarian Foodie, I’ve been going crazy with peaches this summer! If you visit http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com and do a search, you’ll find lots of great examples, but here are my two favorite recipes to share:
Strawberry-Peach Butter
http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/06/summertime-fruit-butter.html
Avocado-Tomato-Peach Salad (crazy good)
http://www.flexitarianfoodie.com/2010/07/savory-summer-fruit-salad.html
I will admit that I have never cooked with pluots because we usually eat them up before they can make it anywhere near the oven. Making the caramel sauce with some of the poaching liquid is brilliant!
Whimsical and ever so beautiful! I have done so much with stone fruit this season, and I love these pluots!
Dead easy and delicious Nectarine (or Peach) Souffle Pie http://thepolymathchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/parlor-and-kitchen-pie-in-sky.html
Love the poached fruit recipe.
I cooked up some Brandied Vanilla Apricots at It’s The Way She
http://itsthewayshe.blogspot.com/2010/08/put-summer-in-jar-summer-fest.html
That. Sounds (and looks). Fantastic!
What a great combination and caramel sauce… wow!
Tonight’s dessert will be a simple yet delicious rustic plum galette
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28765096@N07/4904364343/in/photostream/
Pluots are genius! I had one for the first time a year ago, and I was blown away. I didn’t expect to like them, because I don’t like apricots (texture issue) but pluots are a completely different matter.
And hey, you could poach a turd in Reisling and it would probably taste all right…I’m sure a poached pluot is downright “luscious.” Gorgeous to look at, too.
You pluots are incredibly beautiful!
I poached peaches and cape gooseberries in anise hyssop tea with honey. Loved it…
http://blog.healthy-green-lifestyle.com/anise-hyssop-and-honey-poached-peaches-and-cape-gooseberries.html
As ever, you achieve elegant simplicity (simple elegance?).
And I have never tasted a pluot! Silly me.
xoxox
These look amazing! I have to force myself to actually cook with the stone fruits I get from my CSA — it’s too tempting to just eat them at the kitchen sink! Haven’t gotten any plums yet, maybe I’ll get some from the farmer’s market this weekend so I can poach them in Riesling.
Absolutely gorgeous!
My contribution this week is an Apricot-Cherry Almond Cobbler: http://professionalbakist.blogspot.com/2010/08/cherry-cherry.html. Rainier cherries are my new obsession.
We love pluots in our house. Poaching sounds like an amazing way to prepare them. The addition of orange zest to the poaching liquid must add lots of great flavor.
Here is my contribution to this weeks Summer Fest:
Peach Pie Enchiladas
http://su.pr/2GQnfW
Oh, now I simply must eat more pluots!
Here is my contribution: Peach Crisp for Summer Fest 2010. It’s lovely served hot out of the oven with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
http://www.dollopofcream.com/2010/08/summer-fest-peach-crisp.html
Beautiful pictures and delicious recipes, as always. Your blog is one of my favorite websites to read! Thank you!!!!
What beautiful pluots!
I made a mint fruit salad with mine….
http://theavocadopit.blogspot.com/2010/08/cool-fruit-salad-la-emmaline.html
The pictures on this blog are always so breathtaking. I’ve never had a pluot before but I’m sold.
My Summer Fest contribution this week is peach and pecan bread pudding: http://mysocalledknife.com/2010/08/peach-and-pecan-bread-pudding/
Gorgeous!
My entry into Summer Fest this week is my newest favorite cold dessert
Nectarine Sorbetto, my version is made with raw honey
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/08/nectarine-sorbetto/
and a favorite I’m saving up for cold wintry mornings,
Ginger Peach Pineapple Fruit Butter
http://heartlandrenaissance.com/2010/07/ginger-peach-pineapple-fruit-butter/
Thank you for hosting! I can’t wait to dig into all the other recipes posted!
Best,
Sarah
This looks sooo good, and I was just wondering the other day what one does with a pluto.
Hope you enjoy my Summer Fest contribution
http://achanceofsprinkles.blogspot.com/2010/08/sweet-n-spicy-peach-cantaloupe-salsa.html
I love plumots! We have them in Turkey, but they look a bit different… maybe they aren’t the same…
Anyway here is my gluten free plum clafouti for summer fest!
http://afamilyslife.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-fest-2010-plum-calfouti.html
My first time joining the fun for Summer Fest! Took some liberties, though. My contribution is Key Lime Cheesecake Bars, that uses almonds, blueberries (are they in the same Rose Family as the other berries?) and limes (we only have citrus trees growing in our yard). These bars are unbelievably good!
http://www.wineimbiber.com/index.php/2010/08/celebrating-summer-fest/
Wow. I love how juicy they look. And simple. And perfect. Adding this to my list of desserts for the next few weeks. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have never tasted Market fresh pluots before – the fruit bought at the supermarket just did not do anything for me. I expect perfection from my stone fruit, that delectable balance between too firm and mushy, too bland and overripe, caught in a short moment of just right (I chase that perfection every summer with all my stone fruit, being raised in an environment where eating the fruit off the tree at the perfect moment was en everyday occurrence).
The combination of flavors in your recipe makes me try this with plums (but I will keep on searching for the perfect pluots!), which are very accessible right now. And I just happen to have a bottle of Funf Riesling in the fridge!
My site was down for two whole days, and I could not post on time, but my submission for this week’s Summer Fest is Damson Plum Jam Spiced with Rum.
http://bibberche.com/2010/08/plumjam/
My market had a lovely basket of these out yesterday and I was wondering what to do with them. Your photograph is inspiring. Thank you.
These are so beautiful! Lovely idea for a simple dessert in summer…just gorgeous.
Gorgeous pictures, as always! Also, thanks for introducing me to pluots!
Here’s my contribution to Summer Fest for the week, over at Green Thumb Geeks:
Grilled Peaches with Brown Sugar Over Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Nature is so beautiful – and tasty! What a fabulous post you have! The pictures and recipe really inspire me to find a simple fruit or vegetable and turn it into a beautiful, simple dish.
showstopping, really.
cheers,
*heather*
This is one of my favorite ways to serve pluots to guests. I usually use a bit of bay leaf though. Never tried thyme. Will give it a shot this weekend. =)
Aaah beautiful! So chic and sophisticated, also always love your pictures
Simplictity is best. Always packed full of flavour. Beautiful photos….
I love fruit and wine: delicious, elegant, no hassle. I’ve never had a pluot, but I have seen them at the store. Thank goodness the weekend is here so I can try all these new recipes! I love Summer Fest!
Here is my contribution for the week:
http://flavorsings.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-fest-almond-plum-buckle.html
will certainly try that soon. Make a Bellini, fresh peaches for Summer Fest http://dejavucook.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/bellini/
I simply love your blog!! fabulous photograhs
they must be incredibly aromatic
The sprig of thyme adds a nice touch
Oh my, the color of peaches is so lovely.