This recipe is for those of you who like to deconstruct your desserts. You know who you are: you eat all the apples or peaches out of a perfectly good slice of pie and let the butter crust turn to crumbs. These pan sheet roasted plums come from our November Guest Editor, Daphne Oz and her new cookbook The Happy Cook. The simple fruit dish takes a surprising departure towards the savory – and it’s kind of perfect.
Light and sophisticated, this pretty little dish requires fewer ingredients than most morning smoothies – and you probably have them in your kitchen already! If you’re not feeling the roasted plums or they’re out of season where you live, simply substitute with any winter fruit (pears, figs etc.) for a quick, clean and picture-perfect side dish…
This recipe was actually concocted on the spot by Frances Boswell, food-whisperer extraordinaire and the delicate hands that made every recipe in The Happy Cook look so lush and photo-ready. We had extra plums left over from the kale salad, so she threw them on a baking sheet in the oven and forgot about them… until the wafting smell of roasting fruit caught all of our attention. The savory quality of the herbed sweet-sour plums, plus this incredibly creamy tahini lemon dressing is unthinkably tasty. Plus, it’s a great way to use up fruit that is just about to turn.
Roasted Plum with Tahini Dressing
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
For the roasted plums:
2 lbs plums, halved and pitted
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme and/or oregano leaves, stripped from about 4 sprigs
tahini dressing
flaky sea salt for garnish
For the tahini dressing:
juice of 2 lemons (about 6 Tbsp)
1 cup raw tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 ice cube
Directions:
For the roasted plums:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange the fruit, cut side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and season well with the salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the fruit with all but a pinch of the fresh herbs.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 250°F. Roast until the fruit is very soft and juicy and starting to caramelize, about 2 hours. (Alternatively, turn off the oven after one hour and leave the fruit in the oven overnight. This will produce a more leathery result. Either way is good!)
Layer a plate with the roasted fruit, then drizzle with the tahini dressing. Sprinkle with the reserved fresh thyme or oregano and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
For the tahini dressing:
In a medium bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the tahini, 3/4 cup water, salt and the ice cube. Whisk vigorously until the mixture comes together. It should lighten in color and thicken enough that it holds an edge when the whisk is dragged through it.
Remove the ice cube, if any remains unmelted, and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice and salt until the sauce is addictive — you will know. Scrape the sauce into a shallow serving dish and hide it from the eaters in your house until ready to serve. (Makes almost 2 cups.)
From THE HAPPY COOK by Daphne Oz. Copyright © 2016 by Daphne Oz. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
