• Plum Carpaccio with Vanilla-Agave Syrup and Ginger Cream

    fruitThis carpaccio may be the prettiest dish I have ever worked with. One day, I came back from the Greenmarket with the most beautiful plums but had no idea what to do with them; it soon became apparent that I needed to keep them as whole as possible. I made a quick vanilla syrup with agave and sliced the plums thin enough to have a bit of translucency to them but thick enough to have a little crunch.

    Carpaccio
    4 red plums
    4 yellow plums
    4 blue plums
    4 purple plums

    Syrup
    1 cup raw agave
    1 vanilla bean, scraped

    Cream
    1 cup cashews, soaked 1–2 hours
    1/2 cup water
    2 tablespoons ginger juice
    1 tablespoon raw agave
    Pinch sea salt

    Garnish
    Lavender sprigs

    Syrup Combine ingredients and mix well.
    Cream Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix until smooth.
    Keep cool.

    Assembly Wash the plums, halve them, remove pits, and slice very thin using a mandolin or sharp knife. Place the plum slices on each plate, alternating the colors. Just before serving, pour enough syrup over just to coat. This dish is going to take you 10 minutes to make. Slicing the plums close to when they are being served is recommended. Garnish with a scoop of cream and lavender sprigs.

    Serves 4

    From “Entertaining in the Raw” by Matthew Kenney. Reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith.