Punching Plums

The shops are full of the summer fruit delights. Plums are so cheap, it's like Jamie Oliver always says "Cheap as old chips"! Although  I must say, I'd rather have a bag of plums, than a bag of old chips.

I have bought a few bags which I plan to make into plum jam, like I did last here. (See post). The rest are being eaten fresh, baked into cakes or poached as I did last night.

This simple poached plum is wickedly deceptive. You see the beautiful soft plums, the thick red syrup and think it's a harmless poached plum. That's until you take your first bite and you're caressed with a hint of fresh lime, a sticky sweetness of sugar and right when you think you have had it all, the chili kicks in and says "hello" to your mouth!

Poached Plums with a Punch

2 Cups of Water
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Fresh Lime cut in Quarters
½ -1 Dry Red Chili (depending on your tastes)
8-10 Plums (sore the top of the plum with a X)

Boil the Water, Sugar, Lime and Chili in a saucepan until the sugar has melted and reduced by ¼.
Add the plums and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the chili and leave to cool to room temperature or chill in the fridge.
Serve the plums with the syrup and some ice-cream to cool the palate.