Cook with the season

In season this month

apples
corn
kohlrabi
leeks
potatoes
plums
shallots
spinach

Plum, ginger and sake granita

SERVES 4-6 | PREP 15 MINS PLUS FREEZING | EASY | GF

600g plums ½ ball stem ginger, plus 1 tbsp of ginger syrup from the jar
70g caster sugar 4 tbsp good-quality sake

1 Peel and stone the plums – you should have approximately 400g of flesh and juice. Transfer to a blender with the stem ginger and blitz until smooth. Combine the sugar with the sake until mostly dissolved and add to the blender along with the ginger syrup. Blitz to combine.

2 Transfer the mixture to a large, rimmed baking tray that will fit into the freezer and freeze for 45 mins. Use a fork to scrape the semi-frozen mixture into icy crumbs, then return to the freezer. Leave for another 30 mins and then scrape again – you should have soft, small clumps. Serve in chilled glasses.

PER SERVING (6) 96 kcals | fat 0.1G saturates 0G | carbs 19.9G | sugars 19.3G fibre 1.4G | protein 0.4G | salt 0G

Plums

Stone fruit season is firmly here and plums are some of the best you’ll find. Japanese plums, with their red hue, are the type you would typically find in the supermarket but don’t be afraid to branch out. Damsons are excellent for jam and gin due to their slightly bitter flavour, golden Mirabelles are sweet and juicy, and greengages can vary between tart and sweet, depending on how ripe they are.

Sticky plum and earl grey ribs with plum and sesame salad

SERVES 4-6 | PREP 15 MINS PLUS MARINATING COOK 2 HRS 55 MINS | EASY

DRY RUB
4 earl grey tea bags 50g soft light brown sugar 2 x 1kg racks of baby back ribs
PLUM SAUCE
1 tbsp vegetable oil 4 shallots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
20g ginger, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick 1 star anise 1 tsp allspice
300g red plum flesh (about 5 plums)
75g soft light brown sugar
75ml rice wine vinegar
SALAD
3 plums, cut into slim wedges
3 spring onions, thinly sliced diagonally
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
small bunch of coriander, leaves only
1 tsp runny honey
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 Empty the contents of the tea bags into a bowl along with the sugar plus 2 tsp of fine sea salt and 1 tsp of ground black pepper, stirring to combine. Arrange the ribs on two pieces of foil, large enough to wrap around, and divide the rub mixture between the two, rubbing firmly into the ribs. Wrap the ribs in foil and leave to marinate for an hour. Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Transfer the ribs to two baking trays and bake