Victoria and Kia plum tart with olive oil and greengage sorbet

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This pretty little plum tart might look simple, but there's a hell of a lot of work that goes into each element that's bound to challenge even the most accomplished home cook. The blackberry tuile case is filled with ginger cream, diced fresh plums in a plum gel and then topped with a thyme-covered preserved greengage and oat crumble. On the side is a silky smooth olive oil and greengage sorbet, which is worth making a batch of if the tart is a bit too challenging.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Preserved greengages

Greengage purée

Greengage sorbet

  • 175ml of water
  • 3g of Stabiliser Stab 2000
  • 45g of extra virgin olive oil

Tuile case

Kea plum gel

  • 100g of plums, Kea variety, frozen
  • 45g of caster sugar
  • 25ml of water
  • ultratex, as needed

Diced plums

  • 4 plums, Victoria variety, peeled and diced into small cubes

Ginger crème patissière

Honey oat crumble

To serve

Equipment

  • Chamber sealer
  • Large vacuum bags
  • Blowtorch
  • Blender
  • Sugar thermometer
  • Ice cream maker
  • 6 x 7.5cm stainless steel rings 6
  • Dehydrator
  • Piping bag and nozzle

Method

1
To make the preserved greengages, add all of the ingredients (except the greengages) to a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring well. Remove the pan from the heat, allow to cool, then chill in the fridge before using
2
Cut each greengage in half, remove the stones, then place in a vacuum bag in a single layer, along with the chilled syrup and spices. Seal tightly using a chamber sealer and place in the freezer
3
To make the tuile cases, first add the blackberry purée to a pan and reduce until you’re left with 45g. Next, add the water and sugar to a separate pan and heat until the mixture reaches 150°C on a sugar thermometer. As soon as the syrup reaches this temperature, immediately pour the syrup onto the reduced purée and mix well
4
Remove from the heat, whisk in the flour and beetroot powder, and cook the mixture out until it reaches 119°C, stirring continuously to prevent burning
5
Remove from the heat and quickly beat in the cocoa butter, a little at a time. Transfer to lightly oiled silpat mat, the work the dough using the mat until the mix has cooled and started to crystallise
6
Place the dough in a bag or in a bowl with cling film to cover, and microwave on high for 20 seconds, or until melted. Transfer to a silicone baking mat and work until you have a smooth, homogenous paste
7
Place a sheet of oiled silicone paper on top of the warm paste and roll out into a thin sheet about 1mm thick. Cut into discs with a round cutter
8
Quickly place into lightly greased tart moulds, while the paste is still nice and pliable. Place in a dehydrator for 2–4 hours at 65°C, until firm
9
Now make the greengage purée for the sorbet. Add the sugar and water to a pan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat
  • 100g of caster sugar
  • 100ml of water
10
Wash and stone the greengages and add them to the pan with the syrup. Cook over a low heat until the greengages are tender, then transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside
11
To make the greengage sorbet, add 400g of the greengage purée to a bowl with the water and Stab 2000. Whisk together, then add to a jug blender and blitz
  • 175ml of water
  • 3g of Stabiliser Stab 2000
12
Set the mixture aside for 15 minutes to mature, then transfer to a pan. Bring to the boil, then blitz using an immersion blender while pouring in the olive oil. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then chill in the fridge before transferring to Pacojet containers. Alternatively, you can churn the mixture in a regular ice cream maker
  • 45g of extra virgin olive oil
13
To make the Kea plum gel, add the plums, sugar and water to a pan, bring to the boil and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the plums are falling apart
  • 100g of plums, Kea variety, frozen
  • 45g of caster sugar
  • 25ml of water
14
Remove from the heat and use a hand blender to pulse the plums until most of the flesh and skin has been puréed, taking care not to break the stones. Pass the mixture through a colander set over a bowl and allow to cool
15
Once cool, blitz the mixture in a liquidiser and pass through a fine sieve into a bowl. Pinch by pinch, slowly add Ultratex while whisking until a pipe-able consistency is achieved. Set aside until ready to serve
  • ultratex, as needed
16
To make the crème pâtissière, bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, add the vanilla extract, ground ginger, egg yolk, sugar, and cornflour to a bowl and whisk well
  • 125g of whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 27g of caster sugar
  • 12g of cornflour
17
When the milk is hot, add a small splash of it to the egg mixture and whisk vigorously to temper the eggs. Continue in this fashion, adding a small splash of milk and whisking thoroughly, until all the milk is incorporated with the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and gently heat until it starts to bubble, continuously stirring so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pan
18
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the crème pâtissière to a metal bowl set over ice to stop it cooking further. Whisk in the stem ginger, then continue to mix until the crème pâtissière is cold. Place in a piping bag and store in the fridge
19
Preheat the oven to 165°C/gas mark 3. For the honey and oat crumble, mix all of the ingredients together until well-combined and forming irregular clumps
20
Transfer the mixture to a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat and bake until the pieces are a nice light golden colour, stirring occasionally so they cook evenly
21
Allow to cool and set at room temperature, then break any larger pieces into smaller crumbs using your hands. Set aside
22
When the tuile cases are ready, remove from the moulds by tapping firmly on a work surface and carefully turning them out. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container until ready to plate
23
When ready to serve, get all of the dish elements ready as you’ll need to work fairly quickly with plating. Begin by dressing the diced plums with the Kea plum gel
  • 4 plums, Victoria variety, peeled and diced into small cubes
24
Remove the frozen greengage halves from the vacuum bags and place on a metal tray, skin-side up. Quickly blowtorch the skin and peel off. Serve quickly so the fruit is still semi-frozen
25
Add a small blob of crème pâtissière to the bottom of each tuile case (to prevent slippage) and place them on serving plates. Pipe the crème pâtissière a quarter of the way up each case and top with the diced plum mixture. Place a greengage half on top
26
Dress the plate with some picked thyme leaves and the oat crumble. Add a scoop of sorbet and serve with some more of the Kia plum gel piped onto the plate

Phil Fanning remains one of the brightest, most interesting chefs of the British food scene, creating beautiful, intricate plates of food at the magnificent Paris House in Woburn Abbey.

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