Yogurt Plum Cake--A Simple Autumn Dessert

From what I know about the culinary world, I would risk a statement that only Polish and French, and perhaps also Italians and Hungarians, have such a great affection for plums. This may apply to all kind of plums, but in particular to these oval and dark purple one with the blueish coating on their skin, which in Poland we call Hungarian plums, and here they are called Italian plums. In France, I often ate them in classic tarts on a short or puff pastry crust. But once, many years ago, a French friend made a cake with a plum preserve. I still remember how exquisitely delicious it was--with a very thin and buttery crust that immediately dissolved in the mouth and long-cooked preserve or rather a plum butter on top. I always promise myself to email her and ask about her recipe.

When Italian plums are picked at their ripest stage, they have most aroma and flesh, and least juice of all the plums I tried. This quality makes them perfect for baking, preserving, and using for all kinds of cooking. Unlike other plums that grow all over the world and are often available all year round, Italian plums appear in my food store only for a short time in mid-September and mid-October. So I thought that they were already gone, but today I found them again in one of the stores. I bought two pounds of them and made this simple cake.

Yogurt Plum Cake

Ingredients:
2 lb Italian plums, washed,

3 eggs,
1/2 cup (150g) natural yogurt,
1 and 1/2 cup flour (250g) all purpose flour,
2 cups (300g) powdered sugar,
1/2 cup (150ml) vegetable oil,
1 and 1/4 oz (7g) sachet dry yeasts,
1 tsp vanilla extract,
juice from one lemon,
1 tbsp butter to grease the baking tin,
2 tbsp fine corn meal.

Preparation:
1. Cut washed plums in half alongside and remove the pit.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).
3. Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat the yolks with powdered sugar until almost white. Add to that mixture yogurt, oil and lemon juice. Mix.
4. In a separate bowl combine flour and yeast and add to the batter. Mix until it becomes smooth.
5. Beat the whites until stiff. Using spatula fold them into the batter.
6. Grease the baking tin (about 9 by 13 inches) with butter. Sprinkle it with corn meal and spread the batter all over it. Place halves of plums on top, skin up.

7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the cake is set and light gold.

Serve dusted with icing sugar.

Pomegranate and Potato Salad--Unexpected Combination

I would think that any potato salad is such a culinary cliché that it would not be worth paying attention to. On every salad bar menu there is at least one. But I noticed recently that somehow potato salads have been undergoing a renaissance. At least, when I have guests from Europe for BBQ dinners, potato salads are a big hit.

So when I heard about this salad I could not wait to make it, also because of its other ingredients. It sure has potatoes, but for me the most exciting element in it was pomegranate, which I absolutely love. It is one of the most picturesque fruits, always looking good on photos, and also one of the most healthy, loaded with antioxidants, Vitamin K, and iron.

The pomegranate season has just begun, so this is a very opportune time to share this recipe. I am not sure where this salad comes from, but having some knowledge of Afghan cuisine I would guess that it might have come from there, although it might as well have come from Georgia, where they also love pomegranates and coriander.

I know that pomegranate can be tricky. If they are not entirely ripe their seeds have texture similar to grape seeds and not everyone enjoys them. But most of those fruits sold here are very tasty and of that have that awesome bloody color, which indicates that they are sweet and juicy. In that case, the crunchiness of the seeds should not overshadow their taste. Thanks to pomegranates, an ordinary potato salad turns into a very interesting dish, with a sweet and sour vinous taste. It goes great with cold cuts and grilled meats.

Pomegranate and Potato Salad
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
4 large white potatoes (about a pound),
one pomegranate,
half a medium onion,
half a cup chopped fresh coriander leaves,
3 tbsp mayonnaise,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Cut potatoes in halves and cook them in salted water until soft. Cool down and peel them off. Cut into small cubes and place in a large bowl.
2. Peel the pomegranate and using hands shuck the seeds out of the white membranes (which are inedible). Add all the seeds to the potatoes.
3. Peel onion and slice it thinly. Add to the bowl.
4. Chop the coriander. Add to the bowl.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add mayonnaise and mix gently.

Tenderloin Roulades with Sage

Since my last post was about red cabbage, today I feel like posting something that would go well with it, and red cabbage loves the company of good meat. I also like this recipe very much because of the sage.

Sage is to me a quintessential autumn herb, just as basil is a summer herb, which enhances the taste of ripe tomatoes, and marjoram, especially dried, is a winter herb. Sage belongs to autumn because it is often served with pumpkin dishes and is used to flavor and decorate the Thanksgiving table and meals.

I used to have two big bushes of different types of sage--one green and the other one silver, but my rosemary has been so expansive that it overshadowed my sage plants. As a result, I have been left only with one very weak sage bush. And when I was preparing these roulades, I harvested almost the whole plant. I like the taste of sage and I was very generous with it while making these rolls.

Tenderloin roulades--this time I made them from pork but this applies to both beef and pork roulades--taste great with red cabbage, and can be served with all kinds of noodles or dumplings.

Tenderloin Roulades
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
1 lb (half a kilogram) of pork or beef tenderloin,
4 oz (125g) feta cheese,
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves,
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley,
3 tbsp(72g)butter,
1 medium onion sliced,
3/4 cup (150 ml) vegetable stock,
3/4 cup (150 ml) white wine,
3/4 cup (150 ml) crème fraîche or heavy whipping cream,
salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preparation:
1. Cut tenderloin into thick (2/3 inch) slices. Using a meat tenderizer beat gently each slice on both sides.
2. Using food processor blend feta cheese and herbs until smooth. If you do not have a blender you can mix it together using fork.
3. Put an equal amount of feta mix on each piece of meat and spread it. Roll up each piece of meat and secure with wooden tooth pick.Season with salt and pepper on top.

4. In a frying pan with heavy base melt butter. Add onion and fry until transparent. Add tenderloin roulades and fry on the high heat for about 2-3 minutes, until brown, on both sides.
5. Pour in wine and vegetable stock. Bring it to boil and let it boil for a minute. Add crème fraîche and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve with all kinds of noodles, for instance egg noodles, and red cabbage sauté or red cabbage salads.