A Farewell to Summer

This is just to say
I have eaten the plums
that were
in the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

- William Carlos Williams

Plums are wonderful, aren't they? I love the image this poem creates: a man leaves a note on the fridge door for his wife late one night, a tremendously insincere apology - clearly the plums were just too good for him to actually feel any remorse whatsoever for having eaten them!

Anyway, plums are out in full force now and that can only mean one thing - Autumn is on its way. The trees are beginning to turn beautiful hues of red, yellow and brown. They shed their leaves, forming piles on the ground which the little children in their little wellies like to shuffle through and kick up in the air.

Yes, summer appears to be all but over now and yet most of us are not quite ready to let go. So I've designed this dish to help ease us into the new season gently! Jelly is usually thought of as a light, summery dessert but the flavour of the plums, poached in red wine with cloves, cinnamon and allspice, add a warming autumnal twist to this recipe.

Spiced Plum and Blackberry Jelly

The role of the blackberries is threefold here. They add a little bite and texture to the dish and their tartness helps to balance out the sweetness of the plums. Also, they just look so cute bobbing about in the jelly!

True, jelly and ice-cream is usually thought of as kiddies food but why should us adults miss out on all the fun? Serve in pretty bowls with vanilla ice cream and sit back and revel in the glorious childishness! The little ones won’t want to miss out either though so for a kid-friendly version try substituting the red wine for apple juice.

RECIPE (makes 4/5 individual jellies)

1kg Plums (I used Victoria Plums)
150g Caster Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Clove
½ tsp Allspice
100mls Red Wine
300mls Water
100g Blackberries
4 Gelatine Leaves

Chop the plums in half and discard the stones. Place in a saucepan along with the sugar, cinnamon stick, clove and allspice. Pour over the red wine and add the water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 8 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a sieve and retain the liquid in a measuring jug. (This recipe doesn’t use the stewed plums that remain in the sieve but don’t throw them away! Discard the cinnamon stick, clove and plum skins from the mixture and leave it to cool - store it in a container in the fridge. The sweet stewed plums are delicious served with ice cream or as a filling for a sponge cake).

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until softened and then lift them out and gently squeeze out excess water. Add the gelatine to the measuring jug with the hot strained liquid inside. If the liquid isn’t hot then reheat it first. Stir in the gelatine until it has melted.

Leave the jelly mixture to cool for about ten minutes. Put a small handful of blackberries into each of your individual jelly bowls and pour over the liquid. Transfer the bowls to the fridge and leave until set. Serve with vanilla ice cream.