Boozy Kea Plums on Cornish Brioche recipe
Grown in just one special valley in Cornwall, the Kea plum is an elusive little fruit, well worth tracking down to make this syrupy, tarte pud with plenty of kick.
Recipe
Similar in size to damsons but too sharp to eat fresh, the best way to cook them is with a good jag of sweet booze. Try them with Knightor’s Rosso vermouth, (it’d be rude not to sip a glass as you cook), which cuts nicely through the fruit’s sour notes. Pile on top of a readymade buttery Pavilion brioche with a spoonful of Cornish clotted cream. Dessert is served.
Serves two
150ml Knightor Rosso vermouth (replace with cranberry juice if you’d prefer no booze)
100g caster sugar + 1 tbsp for the toast
400g or roughly 12 kea plums, halved and destoned
2 Pavilion brioche rolls
Method
For the plums:
Put the vermouth and sugar into a wide saucepan and stir over a low heat. When the sugar is dissolved, turn up the heat, bring to the boil and let the pan bubble away for a couple of minutes until the mixture becomes syrupy.
Turn the syrup down to a simmer, add the plum halves and cook them gently for five-or-so minutes. Once the plums are tender but before they fall apart, remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave to keep warm.
Toast your brioche rolls under the grill (keep an eye as they can catch quickly) and spoon your boozy Kea plums generously on your bread slices. Top with a massive dollop of clotted cream for good measure. Et voilà.
Ingredients lowdown: pick your own Kea Plums at Trevaskis Farm shop, also a half hour’s drive from SeaSpace and a great afternoon out. If you’re out of season for picking, they have other fresh and frozen fruits available, too. Find Pavilion’s moreish brioche at their bakery on Fore Street in Newquay, and pop over to Knightor Winery (you guessed it, only half an hour’s drive from your SeaSpace door) to buy – and sample – some of their rather special vermouth.
