margaret suran wrote:

> Giusi wrote:
>
>> I made it last night and it is superb. I think it is the recipe I've
>> been looking for since one of my designers made plum cake years ago
>> and said it was his Polish granny's recipe. He wouldn't share it.
>>
>> The only flaw was that the plums weren't quite ripe enough, so I
>> should have used more sugar, but we got used to that and it made a
>> great breakfast this morning.
>>
>> Thanks to the OP.
>>
> I you liked this recipe, you will like the one Kate makes even more. Ask
> her to post the recipe. It is the best I ever tasted. I lost all
> recipes when my hard drive died a few months ago.

Okay, here are all the recipes I made for the 2002 CT
Cook-in at Jack Schidt's place. A day which will live
in infamy because it is the day I met Margaret Suran! ;-)

Margaret, there are 2 plum "cake" recipes here. I can't
remember which one you liked best? I think it was
the Plum Flan, but can't swear to it. I like them both but
I think the Plum Kuchen is my favorite. Help?

Anyway, I posted all the recipes just in case you want
any of the other or if anyone else wants them. Please
note that the plum flan is not the custard flan but
a cake.

FRESH PLUM FLAN

3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, soft
2 eggs
1 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. grated orange or lemon rind
1/2 c. milk
2 c. plum halves
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

In large bowl, using electric mixer, cream together sugar and butter.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine
flour, baking powder, and rind. Beat into egg mixture alternately with
milk, making 3 additions of flour and 2 of milk. Turn into greased 10"
springform pan. Arrange plums, cut side down, in circles on top,
lightly pushing into batter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon and
sprinkle over plums. Bake at 350F for 45-55 minutes. Serves 8. Notes:
Be careful not to overbake - check after 40 minutes. Used 6 smallish
plums. (Note: I always use black plums. I just like them best.)

PLUM CUSTARD KUCHEN

1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. unsalted butter
3 T. heavy cream
3 T. packed light brown sugar
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
2 1/2 c. sliced plums
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

In food processor combine flour, butter, 3 T. cream, 1 T. brown sugar,
spices, and salt. Blend to a coarse meal, pulsing on and off, about 30
seconds. Transfer ½ c. mixture to small bowl and mix in 2 T. brown
sugar. Set aside. Press remainder into bottom and sides of tart pan.
Bake at 375F until lightly browned, about 20 min. Remove and reduce
heat to 350F. While crust is baking, in a bowl combine remaining heavy
cream, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat well. Arrange plums over crust
and and pour custard mixture over plums. Bake an additional 20-30
minutes or until custard is set. Serve warm or cool. Store in
refrigerator. Notes: Regular 2-piece tart tin was not deep enough,
custard topping overflowed. Should have just made it in a 10" pie pan.
Had 6 smallish plums, cut in eighths, but only needs about 4-5. (Note:
I always use black plums as I like them best.)

YELLOW PLANTAIN AND MEAT PIE
(Pastelon de Amarillos)

1 pound ground beef
5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup basic recaito (see Freddie’s Recaito recipes below)
1/2 cup manzanilla olives, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 pound green beans, cooked
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
7 very ripe yellow plantains, peeled and cut into ½-inch thick slices
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 eggs, beaten
oil for frying

Brown the meat in a large frying pan. Add the next 9 ingredients and
cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside. Preheat the oven to
350F. Heat the oil and fry the plantains until golden brown. Drain on
paper towels. Spread ½ of the filling in the bottom of a 9-inch square
baking pan. Add a layer of ½ of the plantain slices and cover with the
remaining filling. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining
plantain slices. Pour the eggs over all. Bake for 45 minutes, or until
the eggs are set.

Kate’s Notes: Here are the changes I would make in the future. This is
definitely too much for a 9"x9" pan. I doubled it, thinking to put it
in a bigger, deeper foil pan but I only used about 3/4 of the meat
mixture, but then I had used closer to 3 lbs. of meat than 2 lbs. I
used 2 cans of DelMonte diced tomatoes. That seems about right for the
amount of meat. One pound of green beans seemed like way too much. I
would use 1/2-3/4 lb. for 2 lbs. of meat. Seven is definitely too many
plantains. I bought 8 for a double recipe and ended up using only 4 of
them for the 2lbs. of meat. Cheese amount is okay, although I only used
about 3/4 lb. I could have used the whole amount.

New Ingredient List (based on the way mine came out for a double recipe
- the original ingredient list is for a single recipe):
2 pounds ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes (plain or seasoned with onion, garlic, and/or
oregano)(this replaces the fresh tomatoes and the tomato sauce in the
original recipe)
1 cup recaito (I used the 3rd version)
1 cup manzanilla olives, chopped (I left these out since I hate olives!)
1 cup golden raisins
1/2-3/4 pound green beans, cooked
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste (due to salt in canned tomatoes I did not
double the salt)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
4 very ripe, yellow plantains, peeled and cut into ½”-thick slices
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
9 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
oil for frying

The original (single) recipe calls for baking this in a 9"x9" pan.
Based on what I found out doing a double recipe there’s no way the
single would fit in a standard 9"x9" baking pan - it’s not nearly deep
enough. For the double recipe I used one of those large, disposable
aluminum baking/roasting pans, about 9"x13" and about 4" deep (I haven’t
actually measured it, this is just a guess). Anyway, it barely holds
everything. Another note, for the egg custard topping, I decided to add
milk to make it more custardy rather than more like an omelette or
scrambled egg texture. I don’t know how “authentic” this is but I
thought I would like it better - more like the topping on moussaka,
pastitsio, or bobotie, which this dish reminds me of in some ways.

Freddie’s Recaíto Recipe: Recaíto is always part of the sofrito base
ingredient for many Puerto Rican dishes. It is made of vegetables and a
few condiments, it adds a distinctive taste to our foods. I am going to
introduce 3 recipes of recaíto because in some places you can’t find
some of the ingredients. If you can get all of the ingredients you are
very lucky, but the basic recipe will do just fine. You can also make a
large batch to store into jars to refrigerate, just double or triple the
recipes.

Basic recipe:
1/2 small green pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Better recipe:
Same ingredients as in the basic recipe plus:
2 sprigs of fresh cilantro

The best recipe:
Same ingredients as in the basic and better plus:
2 recao leafs (use parsley if recao isn’t availiable)

Chop up all the ingredients into chunks and process them in your food
processor which is the best and process until it’s all chopped up to
resemble oatmeal (pictured). If you don’t have a food processor use a
blender, if neither chop everything up into very tiny pieces. Recaíto
can be used for all types of foods, and they don’t have to be Puerto Rican.

Culantro (eryngium foetidum) is a flavorful herb used in Caribbean
cooking. Puerto Rico uses it extensively in all kinds of stews, soups,
beans, asopao, etc. It is a more flavorful substitute for Cilantro for
all your culinary creations. It is definitely not easy to come by the
seeds for this fragrant herb until now. I have available these seeds
packed hermetically sealed to last you for some time. Another name for
this herb in Puerto Rico is recao. In Asia it is also known as long
coriander. Culantro is also known as ngo-gai, spirit weed, long
coriander, false coriander, black benny, recao de monte, Mexican
coriander, and well over 65 more names in different parts of the world.

SUMMER PASTA

4 ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
1 bell pepper (red, green, or yellow), seeded and diced
1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 c. chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 lb. penne pasta

Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onions, salt, pepper, garlic,
parsley, and oil and toss gently. Cover and let stand at room
temperature for 2 hours to allow flavors to blend. Cook pasta until
just tender. Drain and transfer to a large warm bowl. Add sauce and
toss until pasta is well coated. Serve with crusty bread.

WHITE SANGRÍA MARBELLA CLUB HOTEL

1 bottle dry white wine, chilled
5 T. orange-flavored liqueur
2 c. soda water, chilled
1 apple, cored and sliced
1 orange, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced

In a large glass pitcher combine all ingredients. Serve sangría over
ice. Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

Notes: Over the years I have rung various changes on this recipe, using
other fruits and liqueurs. My favorites are strawberries or peaches.
I’ve also always made it with a slightly sweet wine like French
Colombard, instead of the dry white. For the cook-in I used the
following variation:

White Sangría à la Kate:
2 bottles French Colombard or Mosel, chilled
10 T. (5/8 c.) Peach Schnapps
1 liter club soda, chilled
2 peaches, sliced and sugared lightly to make juice
2 oranges, middles sliced and ends juiced
1 lemon, middle sliced and ends juiced

Combine wine, club soda, schnapps, peaches and juice, orange slices and
juice, and lemon slices and juice. Serve over ice. (P.S. Do the
peaches the day before and let them make juice overnight.)

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
mailto:connally@pitt.edu