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, 1934
Thoughts:
Ohmygoodness, but this is GOOD. Like, crazy delicious. This is an instant favorite, and will probably be made several times during every holiday season for the rest of our lives. The recipe is simple, the texture is smooth, and the flavor can’t be beat. The strong spice mixture leaves just a slight tingle on the lips. And with the onset of summer, and with it fresh fruits, this dish is a must!
Why it should be in the Next Book:
Didn’t you read that? Or look at the photo? This is a phenomenally good dish, one that is authentically medieval, yet interesting and exotic enough that any character in Westeros would be delighted to partake. We imagine it in Highgarden, down on The Arbor, or over in Pentos.
Spiced Plum Mousse with Honey- Recipe
Take bolas and scald hem with wyne, and drawe hem thorow a straynour; do hem in a pot. Clarify hony, and therto with powdour fort and flour of rys. Salt it & florissh it with whyte aneys, & serve it forth. -Forme of Cury, 1390
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes around 4 servings
Cook’s Notes: Yellow plums and white wine yield a golden-colored mousse, while purple plums and a red form a quite different but equally delicious mousse. We opted to leave the anise out of our mousse, but have included it in the ingredients to keep consistent with the original recipe. We also think that some candied orange peel garnish would be a fantastic addition to this dish.
Ingredients:
- ~1 pound of plums, purple or yellow
- 1 1/3 cups wine, red for purple plums, white for yellow plums (we used a syrah)
- 4 Tbs. honey
- 1 Tbs. rice flour
- pinch of salt
- pinch of Powder Forte (see below)
- 1 Tbs. candied anise seeds (optional)
Candied anise seeds can be purchased inexpensively in Indian groceries or, at great cost, in fancy French groceries as anis de Flavigny.
Wash and pit the plums, cutting them in half, or pieces. Meanwhile, bring the wine to the boil in a stainless steel or other nonreactive pan. Add the plums and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the plums are very soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the wine.
Press the plums through a sieve into a heavy saucepan. Place this saucepan over low heat and stir in the honey. Stir the rice flour into the 1/4 cup of the reserved wine, then stir this mixture into the plum puree and add the salt and spices. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until thickened. Pour into a serving bowl and cool slightly before serving. If you like, decorate with the candied anise seeds just before serving.
Powder Forte:
Mix equal parts black pepper, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. You may also include long pepper, but it is very hard to come by. The most determined of cooks may find it in Indian markets.
WOW, this looks good! And, for a dessert, relatively healthy. I’m going to have to try this. How many servings does this make/how big is the serving bowl in your picture? It’s just my husband and I so I don’t want to make too much.
This would be perfect for just the two of you. It makes around 4 large servings, but you’ll probably go back for seconds! For a larger group, I’d triple the amount.
If anyone happens to live in Sweden, or want to order long pepper and pay for the shipping, you can order it from here: http://www.bredaviksortagard.se/?p=shop
It’s called “långpeppar” under the heading “Medeltidskryddor” and the price, 35 skr for a bag is equivalent to abour 5 dollars, plus shipping.
PS. This site is absolutely fantasitc!
That’s great to know; thanks so much for sharing. Maybe we’ll snag some of our own one of these days!
I made this with marionberries instead of plums (because we had a giant box of them), and it was very good, especially spooned over your Elizabethan lemon cakes.
(But do not try to put marionberries through a sieve. It doesn’t work. I tried.)
And for the rest of the week, I have something to mix into my yogurt!
I thought I’d pop in and share my version of your dessert! I made it last night to eat during Game of Thrones and it turned out really well! It’s going to be a staple at my house since it was so easy to make. Thanks for posting it!
http://thekitchenfrog.blogspot.com/2011/05/dessert-inspired-by-game-of-thrones.html
Looks lovely! It’s become a fast favorite in our house as well, although we’ve yet to try the white wine version. Hopefully once the farmers’ markets get underway this summer we will have a chance to do so!
Big fan of both your site and the Forme of Cury, so I thought I’d give this a spin. I found it was a little too heavily spiced and maybe a little too rich for just eating plain, but decided a proper vessel for it would be shortbread thumbprint cookies. That said, this makes some of the best filling for shortbread cookies I have ever eaten. Thanks for the recipe, I plan on trying a lot more from here (so many look great). Keep it up!
This sounds delicious, and I am SO making it for the premier of Season 2 this weekend. I was wondering what sort of red wine would be best to use with the purple plums? I’ve never cooked with red wine before, so I’m kind of clueless on this. Any suggestions?
You know, I’ve made it several times, and used different reds each time. Go with something that isn’t too spicy, and that is fruity and light. A cabernet sauvignon is a great choice.
Glad you’re making it! This is one of my all time favorites. :)
So apparently, plums are out of season right now :(. I already got the red wine, too, so unless I can find some I might just have to wait to try this recipe out.
PHooey! We’ve got some in our grocery stores… they’re not great, but after stewing down would be fine. Hope you find them!!
This was absolutely delicious!! :) I made it for my friends and I who got together to watch the season 3 finale. I personally found it a bit too sweet on its own so we had it on top of vanilla ice cream which worked out so well! (it also works well with yoghurt) I’d definitely make this again. :)
Plum Mousse looks really interesting. How much exactly is a “pinch”? It sounds like a very small amount. If it’s such a small amount, is it even going to make a difference? Why add it at all?