I swear that my fruit trees in Italy seem to take turns being super productive. One year, it was the apricot tree that kicked into overdrive and I made massive quantities of apricot jam. Another year, the cherry tree decided that I really needed cherry vodka in the house. This year, the plum trees thought I needed to highlight their efforts.
In July, I was the proud recipient of lots of sweet yellow plums that were super ripe and demanded I do something with them. As the weather was a touch hot (38 C), I didn’t relish the idea of making jam (next time, I promise!). I have been on a bit of a gazpacho kick lately, so I decided to try the plums as a cold soup. Stone fruit soups are sweeter than other soups, and while plum soup may sound a little different, it has been served for years on many a Lithuanian and Jewish table. The soup is light (which is good on a hot day, and also for your waistline), but also a touch sweet, so it can be served before dinner or after, almost as a dessert soup. Leftovers can also be served over ice cream.
My sister Louise would want me to point out that this recipe is gluten-free and great for a celiac or vegetarian diet.
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 1 hour (+ cooling); Serves: 4-6 people Calories per serving: 160 (per 6 servings)
What you need:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) golden yellow plums, cut into quarters, remove all but 4 – 6 pits
- 1/8 cup sugar (can be omitted if your plums are super sweet)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 pods cardamon
- 1 stick cinnamon, broken into pieces
- 1 1/2 cups sweet Prosecco (or sweet white wine)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- thick plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- pepper (not shown)
- fresh lemon juice (lemon not shown)
What you do:
- in a large pot, add plum quarters, including 4 – 6 pits (count how many you put in)
- add sugar
- add vanilla
- add cinnamon sticks
- add cardamon
- add Prosecco
- add water
- stir and bring to a boil
- reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for approximately 45 minutes until the plum skins separate
- remove plum pits, cardamon pods, and cinnamon sticks (count how many you put in and make sure you get them all out!)
- blend with an immersion blender
- strain
- chill
- serve with a spoonful of Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- top with fresh ground pepper and fresh lemon juice
You can also make this recipe with traditional red or purple plums, but if you do, you will want to increase the sugar (1/4 – 1/2 cup) as they are quite a bit more tart than the golden yellow plums.
