honey thyme poached plums with sweet mascarpone

Juicy summer plums get poached in a syrup of honey, white wine and fresh thyme. They’re served with a dollop of sweet mascarpone and crunchy almond biscotti for a quick and fresh summer dessert.

There are a few requirements in my mind for the perfect summer dessert. To start, there should be no involvement of the oven whatsoever. It’s painful enough to have to turn on the A/C all day, but paying to heat and cool the air is just too much for me.

Second, it should be quick. Because when we do run the A/C, it’s set to be just cool enough to keep the sweat from running down my back without exerting any energy. Running around the kitchen for a dessert just isn’t happening.

And finally, it should involve some of the gorgeous fruit in the markets. Peaches, plums, nectarines, apriums, pluots, cherries, melons-- the whole gang shows up in the summer and it would be so sad to ignore them.

That’s how I came about poaching plums. They get a quick simmer in a syrup of honey, white wine and fresh thyme to infuse them with sweet flavor, then they’re served with a dollop of sweet mascarpone that’s gently scented with almond. I love the juicy wedges of poached plums set against the sweet creamy mascarpone and crunchy almond cookies. It’s a dreamy summer dessert that can be whipped up without breaking a sweat-- and that’s a fact!

It’s a total shame to dump the honey thyme syrup leftover from poaching the plums, especially because it picks up the fruity plum flavor and bright red color along the way.

here are a few ways to use the extra honey thyme poaching syrup

• stirred into plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• warmed and served over oatmeal or sweetened polenta
• spooned on top of pancakes or french toast, in place of maple syrup
• drizzled over warm brie and served with crackers
• as a glaze for roast chicken
• in homemade salad dressings, replacing the sweetening element (usually honey)
• mixed with club soda for a homemade honey plum soda
• mixed with sparkling wine for a plum scented spritzer
• cocktails! (like a honey plum whiskey sour: 2 oz whisky + ¾ oz lemon juice + ¾ oz poaching syrup)

notes on the poached plums:

• I prefer to use unoaked, fairly high acid white wines for poaching fruit, and they do not need to be super high quality. I typically use $7- $10 wines. You’re cooking off most of the volatile compounds that contribute to complexity, so it’s a waste to use anything more expensive (despite what a lot of people say). Save the fancy stuff for your glass. Look for Riesling, Albariño, Sauvignon blanc, or Pinot Grigio for fresh, fruity poaching wines.
• I love to use plums that are firm and just barely ripe. The tart skin is the perfect foil to the sweet syrup and they’re much more likely to hold their shape.
  • On that note, I always leave the skin on the plums. If you simmer them for a longer period of time, the skin will eventually slip off. Either way works just fine, but I love the sour plum skin and don’t want to lose it!

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