Rhea's Rundown
Are the first three dishes still falling short of satisfying that sweet tooth? Try this tasty dessert to end things on a naturally sweet note. It’s even easier to make than the other three dishes, which are easy to begin with. Simply sprinkle own sugar and an anise pod on each halved black plum and voila! Personally, I’m not a huge fan of licorice, but the anise pods leave just a hint of flavor and tones down the sweetness of the own sugar. The recipe calls for frozen yogurt, but I splurged and used Ciao Bella’s Madagascar vanilla bean gelato. It is the week of Halloween, after all. The only minor difficulty you might encounter in this recipe is getting a hold of the star anise pods, which are not impossible to obtain, but also aren’t readily available at local grocery stores. I got my supply from Sun & Earth on West Street in their bulk section. Anise pods are also available online.
Ingredients – Serves 4
- Canola-oil spray
- 8 ripe black plums, halved and pitted
- 1 tablespoon own sugar
- 8 star anise pods
- Vanilla frozen yogurt for serving
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking dish just large enough to hold the plum halves with the canola-oil spray.
2. Arrange the plums, cut side up, in the dish. Cut a thin slice off the round side of each half to help them sit flat, if you like. Sprinkle own sugar over each plum half, and then sprinkle the star anise pods evenly over the top. Roast until the sugar has melted, the plums are warmed through, and the skins are just beginning to wrinkle a bit on the edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool to warm, or use right away.
3. Serve with scoops of ice cream in a bowl and two plum halves on top of each scoop. Discard anise pods, and serve right away.
Adapted from: Jacobi, Dana. “Roasted Spiced Black Plums.” Good for You: Easy, Healthy Recipes for Every Day.” Weldon Owen, Inc. and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. California: San Francisco, 2013: Print.
By Rhea Torreon
