Eat your “P’s”: Plums, Pork, Potatoes, and Pinot on the Porch

Last week I wrote about the amazing Plum Chutney I made with the plums I picked from our Greengage plum trees. It was a delicious accompaniment to the pork we got from La Boucherie at our local farmers market. We quaffed a delicious Foxen Winery Pinot Noir that paired perfectly with our pork and plum chutney, and for a side dish we enjoyed our first homegrown (in a plastic garbage can!) rose fingerling potatoes of the season. To top it all off, our porch-side dessert featured more plums in the form of a crumble.

Eat your “P’s!” No complaints on that at the Urban Cabin.

Plum Crumble with Hazelnuts and Crystallized Ginger (Serves 6-8)

*You could adapt this recipe using many types of fruit. In the past I’ve made it with peaches and also pears. Of course, my personal favorite is crumble with Greengage plums.

For topping

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts (chopped)

For filling

• 3 pounds firm but ripe plums (I used Greengage, but any plum will do), pit removed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (or chopped roughly)*
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger (I use more because I really like the extra kick from gingery flavor)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

Preparation

Make topping:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish (you can also use a smaller baking dish, I have, and you’ll have a deeper crumble). Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form.

Make filling:
Combine plum slices and lemon juice in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to blend.

Transfer filling to prepared dish. Sprinkle topping over. Bake crumble until plum are tender and topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. We enjoyed our crumble with homemade sage ice cream, but store-bought vanilla works too!

Want more perfect goodness? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!