Spiced Plums Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place the plums, cut-side up, in a single layer in the baking dish.
• Whisk together the orange juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, and cardamom in a bowl; drizzle over the plums.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until plums are hot and the sauce is bubbly. Top with toasted almonds, if desired (see Cook's Note).

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 4. Toast the star anise and coriander seeds in a dry pan until aromatic. Tip the toasted spices into a spice grinder with 2 tsp sea salt and grind into a fine powder (or crush using a pestle and mortar). Put the spice salt in a bowl, add the sugar, mix well and set aside.
• Lightly score the skin of the duck in a criss-cross pattern and heat the oil in a large casserole. Using a pair of tongs to turn it, brown the duck well on all sides, pour off the excess fat, then sit the duck breast-side up and season all over with the sugar and spice mix. Pack the plums around the outside, then scatter over the bay and pour over the vinegar and stock.
• Roast in the oven for 2 hrs or until the duck is golden and the plums have broken down. Turn the oven right up for 10 more mins to crisp up the skin. Take the duck out of the pan to rest for 10 mins and spoon the excess fat off the plums. Carve the duck and serve with a good spoonful of plums.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Arrange plums cut side down in an ovenproof dish that holds them in 1 layer.
• In a medium saucepan, combine honey, syrup, cinnamon, star anise, vinegar and 1 1/2 cups water. Place on medium-high heat. As soon as mixture begins to boil, pour evenly over plums. Cover dish tightly with foil.
• Bake plums until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove foil, and let cool slightly. To serve, place 4 portions of plums in 4 shallow bowls, and top with syrup. Plums may be refrigerated and served cool or reheated.

Steps:

• To prepare the plums: wash and cut them into quarters, then remove the stones.
• Tip the sugar into a pan with 225ml water, the cinnamon and vanilla. Gently heat until the sugar dissolves.
• Slide the fruit into the syrup. Bring the pan to the boil, then let it simmer for 5-10 mins - depending on the ripeness - until the plums are soft. Leave to cool slightly and serve as they are with something creamy.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Mix the sugar with 2 tbsp water in a baking dish, add the star anise, then pop in the plums, cut-side down. They should fit quite snugly. Dot with the butter. Roast for about 5 mins until the plums are starting to soften on the bottom, then turn them over. Roast for another 5 mins or until tender - this will depend on how ripe your fruit is.
• Roughly crush the Hobnobs, then spoon a little on top of each plum half. Return to the oven for a few mins more until the biscuit topping takes on a dark gold colour. Serve the plums and their scented, syrupy juices with custard or ice cream.

Steps:

• Submerge 6 empty half-pint jars on a rack in a large pot of water. Cover and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low to keep jars warm until ready to fill.
• Tumble plums, lemon zest, and lemon juice into a wide, nonreactive 8-quart pot. Whisk together sugar, pectin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl, then stir into pot until combined.
• Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, stirring frequently and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a gentle boil, until volume has reduced by at least one-third, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pot from heat and check for set.
• Working with one jar at a time, remove empty jars from canning pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, carefully ladle jam into jars, leaving 1/2 inch for headspace. Use a clean wooden chopstick to work air bubbles out of jars. Check headspace again and add more jam if necessary to bring to 1/2 inch from the top.
• Wipe jar rims, apply lids and bands (not too tightly), and return jars to canning pot; cover pot and return water to a rolling boil. Process 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove pot lid, and let jars stand in the cooling water 5 minutes to help ensure a good vacuum seal.
• Move jars to a folded kitchen towel or wooden cutting board to cool completely before checking seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and eaten promptly. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. They are shelf-stable at least 1 year.

Steps:

• Halve and stone the Plums. Place them cut side down in an ovenproof dish so that they fit fairly snuggly. Pour over enough Orange Juice to come half way up the plums in the dish. Sprinkle over the cloves, Cinnamon and a generous grating of fresh Nutmeg. Bake at 180 for 20 minutes until the Plums are tender,and serve with some of the syrupy cooking juices spooned over the top. In winter serve hot with fresh cream, in summer serve cold with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.