Plum Lucky
An Air BnB in Alpine comes with fruit ready to pick. How lucky are we?
November is not the typical time to harvest plums, but the tree in the backyard behind the cabin on Blue Lake Drive that Nancy and Mick Scherba rented was loaded with fruit when we first checked out their accommodations. Loaded. With bright blue small plums. Two apple trees in the backyard were bedecked with tiny apples, each a perfect handful for little Iris, who couldn’t believe her luck finding the fruit within her grasp.
Rose climbed the little plum tree and harvested all the plums in reach. We ended up with just over three pounds, and I immediately reckoned what dishes to make with them. First of all, a Plum Torte, the classic Marian Burros NYT recipe, that never fails to delight. Secondly, plum jam, to hold some of that sweetness for biscuits and pancakes in the dead of winter—which will be here in about 2 weeks. Thirdly, my friend Liz Pratt’s Turkey Escalopes, a dish I had tasted in England and longed to recreate.
Kirk helped decorate the top of the torte with the plums and then wouldn’t try a bite with a plum in it. Maybe that is why he left such wide-open spaces on the top of the torte. Iris had no qualms and scarfed the dessert down, plums and all.
The jam didn’t take too long to make and was easy enough, though the set, made without pectin, is a little loose. It may tighten up over time or be fine as a pourable topping.
The hardest part about making Liz’s turkey recipe was apprehending the turkey. Only frozen whole breasts were available in Alpine. With one grocery store, we are limited to what Broulim’s, the God of Foodstuffs, deems worth carrying. Mick and Nancy were headed to Jackson and found some turkey tenderloins not at Whole Foods, not at Albertson’s, but finally at Smiths, and they brought them home.
The tenderloin is the part of the turkey breast that lies under the large muscle and has a tendon in it that should be removed. It’s edible but tough. The Jennie-O tenderloins had the tendon removed so all I had to do was cut the meat into 2 to 3 inch pieces and pound it out to make a thin scallop, in French, escalope. An older French term for the pounded portion of meat is “paillard.” The pounding ensures quick and even cooking.
The two packages of turkey tenders yielded 16 portions, the escalopes. The marinade was very easy to make—equal parts apple cider, soy sauce, and sherry with a little garlic and fresh thyme. The thin slices of turkey needed only a couple of hours at room temp to absorb the marinade,and the searing of them in a skillet with half butter and half oil, yielded a nice brown finish. Once the turkey was sauteed, the marinade went into the skillet, absorbing the “fond” or brown bits on the pan's surface and creating a rich and luxurious sauce. Therein went the plums, melting some of their sweet and sour pulp into the sauce.
Damson plums, I believe the subspecies for these little gems, are very healthy additions to your diet. As members of the purple fruits, they are good sources of anthocyanins and Vitamins A, C, and E. Plums contain phenolic compounds that promote anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activity and antioxidants that promote good health. All of that goodness was free for the plucking out back.
We really are the lucky ones.
Turkey Escalopes with Damsons
Based on Liz Pratt’s recipe with some minor changes
Makes 8 servings
2 pounds of turkey tenderloins
1 cup apple cider
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sherry
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound of Damson plums, cut in half, with stone removed
Optional: 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon room temperature butter pressed together to make a Beurre Manie if you want to thicken the sauce a little. I did.
Slice the turkey tenderloins into 2-inch pieces and flatten, pounding them between saran wrap to prevent tearing.
Place the flattened slices in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over. Alow to marinate 3-4 hours in the refrigerator or speed it up to 2 hours at room temperature.
Heat half the butter and oil in a large skillet, and saute the turkey until browned on both sides. Transfer the browned pieces to a serving casserole and continue frying in batches.
When the turkey escalopes are cooked, pour the marinade into the pan and scrape up all the browned bits. Add the Damsons and cook until they soften, about 15 minutes. If you want the sauce to be a little thicker, add the optional Beurre Manie a little bit at a time and whisk it in.
Pour the plum sauce over the turkey and hold in the oven until serving time.
Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes, green beans, or any other side dishes that complement the saucy turkey. We had a wild rice pilaf and roasted root vegetables, which all paired very nicely.
