Richard's Plum Tart

We were recently invited for wine followed by this magnificent dessert served with vanilla ice cream and  coffee at our friends, Richard and Marie. The deep red and yellow plums were dripping with the light sweet syrup as we savoured every bite. What a treat! Richard shares the recipe, handed down from his mother, Helga, below.

Here is a magic formula that is the answer to Life, the Universe & everything.

"TWO, FOUR, SIX".

...it's the family secret that my mother passed on to me and basically that's all you need to know to live an ecstatically happy (if rather short) and contented life, living only on earth-shattering good Viennese Apple or plum tart.

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Oh yes - you want to ask the same complicating but unnecessary questions that I did all those years ago.  "Yes, but of what.. for how long etc?....."

Here is the accompanying idiot's guide to achieving easy success and the admiration of friends and neighbours:

Ingredients,
2 Granulated sugar
4 Stork margarine
6 Flour (4 wholemeal: 2 Plain white)
3 or 4 Bramley Cooking apples

A spinkling of Sultanas

Mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon (use plenty)

I think we are talking old money ounces, but it's the proportion that's important.

Mix it all together in a processor or my hand and form into a ball.  You can press it out into a slightly greased baking tin immediately (it makes one 12inch cake or two 9 and 7 inch ones - or you can keep the pastry in the fridge or freezer indefinitely.

Peel quarter and thinly slice three or four Bramley cooking apples, place in bowl and liberally sprinkle / coat with premixed (use a jam jar and shake it) granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Press out pastry in baking tin, add some sultanas and cover liberally with apple slices, shake over some more gran sugar/cinnamon mixture and place in preheated oven at 180C for about 45 minutes, until edges are slightly burnt.  Place on rack to cool. Separate from base and sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.

There - now you know everything there is to know.  Or nearly, ‘cos the Apple cake recipe can and should be tried using plums.  Unfortunately Svitzen (don’t know how it should be spelt) plums have long been extinct in the UK, but this year I tried President plums, which make a brief appearance in late September.  I blind baked the pastry, (covering the base with baking roll) for 20 or so minutes before adding the halved (lengthwise) stoned plums, coated in the gran sugar/cinnamon mixture, and returning to the oven.  Be careful that the oven is not too hot or the plums will shrink. The result was blissful.

Bon appetite.

Richard    

Salmon Starters

These colourful starters, using Red Alaskan salmon, hard boiled egg, and mixed vegetables, are so easy! The preparation is done ahead of time. They can also be used on a larger plate of vegetable salad as a lunch or light supper.

This recipe was inspired by the lovely meal we recently enjoyed with our friends, Margaret and Adrian in Bournemouth. We could eat plenty because our afternoon was spent biking along the beautiful seafront. What a day!!








Two servings (very generous).

Line to ramekins with plastic wrap, leaving some to hang over the sides.

Ingredients:

200g Smoked (preferably Alaskan) salmon
150 raw salmon
1 lemon, squeezed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3-4 sprigs snipped fresh dill
Coarsely ground black pepper, good shaking
100g Cream cheese or creme fraiche

Line the plastic wrap covered ramekins with half of the smoked salmon. Cut the rest of the smoked salmon and all of the raw salmon into very small pieces; place in a small mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and thoroughly blend. Spoon mixture evenly into the ramekins on top of the sheets of salmon. Cover with the overlapping salmon and plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove salmon starters from the ramekins by pulling up on the plastic wrap. Plate onto  small plates of mixed vegetable salad, garnished with hard boiled egg quarters. See earlier post on Salmon Nicoise. Enjoy.

Tomato Carrot Soup

This orangish red hot steaming soup is a welcome lunch and slimming if you use only a touch of grated parmesan to garnish. Cooler weather now lends to bringing back these body and soul warming meals.








Serves about 5 to 6

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
1, 400g tin chopped tomatoes
5 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 litres/1 1/2 quarts, water
2-3 vegetable bullion cubes

Put all the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to the boil over medium heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Turn off heat. With a hand blender, puree. Serve in bowls garnished with a teaspoon of coarsely grated parmesan.