Plums Poached In Marsala Food

PINE NUT TORTA WITH MARSALA-POACHED AUTUMN FRUIT

Steps:

• For fruit:
• Combine 3 cups water, Marsala, sugar, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add prunes and apricots. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until fruit is just soft but not mushy, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to medium bowl. Boil liquid until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Pour syrup over fruit. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For cake:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Whisk egg yolks, egg, lemon peel, vanilla, and salt in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar in medium bowl until pale and creamy. Gradually add flour, beating until mixture resembles coarse meal. Using rubber spatula, gently stir egg mixture into butter mixture (batter will be thick). Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top (cake will be thin). Sprinkle pine nuts over top; press lightly to adhere.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer cake to rack. Run small knife around cake edges to loosen. Remove pan sides. Cool cake completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)
• Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar. Serve with poached fruit.

POACHED PLUMS

Steps:

• To prepare the plums: wash and cut them into quarters, then remove the stones.
• Tip the sugar into a pan with 225ml water, the cinnamon and vanilla. Gently heat until the sugar dissolves.
• Slide the fruit into the syrup. Bring the pan to the boil, then let it simmer for 5-10 mins - depending on the ripeness - until the plums are soft. Leave to cool slightly and serve as they are with something creamy.

PLUMS POACHED IN VANILLA, CINNAMON, ANISE

Steps:

• Cut plums in half and remove the stones. In a sauce pot bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Add plums and cook quickly until tender. Pour out onto a sheet pan to stop cooking and allow to cool. Serve fruit with a bit of the poaching liquid.

PLUMS POACHED IN MARSALA

Steps:

• Preset oven to 180C (350F).
• Cut plums in half and remove stones.
• Place plums, cut side up, into a rectangular baking dish- corningware, pyrex or similar.
• In a large jug, combine Marsala, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar and lemon rind.
• Mix well then pour this mixture evenly over the plums.
• Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 40 minutes, turning plums over after 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and strain liquid into a small saucepan.
• Remove the lemon rind and discard.
• Make a paste with the arrowroot and a little water and add to the juice in the saucepan.
• Place pan over a medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until it reaches simmering point.
• Simmer sauce for about 5 minutes until it is slightly thickened and glossy- it will thicken more as it cools.
• Pour the liquid back over the plums.
• Serve plums hot or cold with cream or ice-cream.

POACHED PLUMS

Steps:

• Stir sugar and water together in a 2 1/2-quart souffle dish. Add cinnamon stick. Cook, uncovered, at 100 percent in a high-power oven for 3 minutes. Stir thoroughly, making sure there are no grains on the bottom of the dish. Cover with a lid or microwave plastic wrap. Cook for 6 minutes. Prick plastic, if used, to release steam.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla bean. Add plums. Cook, covered, at 100 percent power in a high-power oven for 8 minutes.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Let cool. Remove vanilla bean and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.
• Serve chilled, in a bowl, with some of the syrup.

PEARS POACHED IN MARSALA

Steps:

• Peel the pears and scoop out the cores from the bottom with the point of a swivel bladed potato peeler. Immerse the pears in water mixed with two tablespoons of the lemon juice.
• Bring the Marsala to a simmer in a saucepan that will comfortably hold the pears upright. Add the sugar and cinnamon stick. Once the sugar has dissolved stand the pears up in the pan and cook gently until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the pears from the pan, draining them well.
• Bring the Marsala mixture to a boil and cook rapidly until it is reduced to about three-fourths of a cup and is syrupy. Stir in the remaining lemon juice. Pour the syrup over the pears and cool before serving.

PLUMS IN MARSALA

Steps:

• Stir the sugar into the marsala.
• Place the whole plums in an ungreased baking dish, lay in the cinnamon sticks and the vanilla pod and then pour over the marsala mixture.
• Bake at 180C for about 40 minutes.
• If you like a thicker sauce you could also mix a bit of cornstarch into the sauce before baking, but I like it runny.
• Serve with a dollop of greek yoghurt or ice cream on top.
• It's also good mixed into rice pudding.

POACHED PLUMS

Steps:

• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Add tea bags, remove from heat, cover, and steep for about 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and bring back to a boil. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium low so that liquid is barely simmering. Add plums and poach until tender, 30 seconds to 1 minute. (If plums are not very ripe, this will take longer.) Remove plums from liquid and let cool. Reduce poaching liquid to the consistency of light syrup. For an elegant presentation, pull plum skin back from fruit, leaving it attached at the stem end (this doesn't work on all plum varieties). Serve plums with some of the poaching liquid.

POACHED PEARS WITH MARSALA, CINNAMON, AND VANILLA

Steps:

• Combine 2 cups dry Marsala, 2 cups water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, split vanilla beans, and orange peel strips in heavy large pot. Bring to boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add peeled Bosc pears. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and simmer until pears are tender, turning pears occasionally, about 40 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to platter. Boil liquid in pot until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, about 12 minutes. Pour syrup over poached pears. Chill until cold, turning pears occasionally, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
• Divide poached pears among 6 shallow bowls. Strain syrup; discard solids. Drizzle syrup over pears. Top each with dollop of mascarpone, if desired, and serve.
• Italian cream cheese, sold at Italian markets and many supermarkets.

MARSALA-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Cut pears in half lengthwise and remove cores. Measure Marsala cooking wine into a small mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir to dissolve sugar.
• Melt butter in a large 12-inch skillet. Stir in Marsala mixture. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Place pears in pan, cut side down. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 30-45 minutes or until cool enough to serve.
• Place each pear half in a small bowl. Stir remaining sauce in pan; drizzle each serving with 1-2 teaspoons warm sauce. Top with a small scoop of ice cream, and if desired, toasted pecans. Serve immediately.

MARSALA-SOUSED PEACHES

Steps:

• Pour the Marsala into a wide shallow pan (large enough to take all the peaches in a single layer) and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, add the vanilla pod and simmer gently for 15 minutes until reduced by nearly two thirds to about 200ml/7 fl oz.
• Carefully tuck in the peaches and cook gently uncovered for about 5 minutes, until starting to soften, turning frequently. Leave to cool in the pan, then tip into a big serving bowl and chill for at least an hour, turning occasionally, until you are ready to serve. (You can prepare to this stage up to 8 hours ahead.)
• To serve, spoon the peaches and juices into bowls and serve with a dollop of clotted cream and the biscuits.