A juicy plum can stain your best shirt in no time as do blueberries.
They can turn into a delectable tart as happens with mouth watering Plum, Blueberry and Almond Tart below. Recipe is in the Autumn section of Jam, Jelly & Relish (Kyle Books, August 2011, US Edition) by Ghillie James.
Plum, Blueberry, and Almond Tart
This is a really easy recipe and it looks stunning.
Serve it with chilled crème fraîche to balance the sweetness of the tart.
18oz (500g) block of frozen, all-butter puff pastry, defrosted
flour, for rolling pastry
milk, for brushing pastry
9oz (250g) block of white marzipan
3/4lb (400g) plums, halved and pitted
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup blueberries
4 tablespoons Plum and Blueberry Jam (see page 99)or another berry jam
2 tablespoons toasted almond flakes
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it forms a rectangle measuring about 11in x 14in (29 x 37cm). Trim a 3/4in (2cm) wide strip from all the edges and reserve. Place the pastry rectangle onto a baking sheet. Brush the edges with milk, then stick the strips all around the outside of the rectangle, trimming as necessary. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork.
Roll out the marzipan very thinly, then place it onto the pastry rectangle and, using both hands, pull it so that it sits inside the pastry, scrunching it up a little so that it looks like an unmade bed. Scatter the plum halves over the top, cut-side up, and dot them with the butter. Scatter with the blueberries. (If you wish, you can make the tart up to this stage and keep it in the fridge overnight).
Warm the jam with 3 tablespoons water to make it a little runnier, then drizzle half over the fruit. Scatter with the almonds and brush the exposed pastry edges with a little milk. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the tart from the oven, drizzle with the remaining jam, and return it to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the plums are tender. Serve warm or cold with crème fraîche.
I can see this recipe on my table this summer as an afternoon treat.
(* Recipe from Jam, Jelly & Relish reproduced courtesy of Kyle Books, Photo by Laura Hynd…First published in the UK in May 2010)