Mirabelle plum tart

It's in season, it's gorgeously golden and sweet, it's the Mirabelle plum! It's likely to be unknown to most of you who live outside France - it grows in the Lorraine and Vosges region, as the clever pictogram on my map shows:

It's the princess of plums and the plum of princesses. Yes.

You'll enjoy it as such, or cut in quarters (painstakingly), and artistically arranged on a crust.

The basic crust is made with 220g of flour, to which you add 110g of butter cut in small chunks. Rub the butter in the flour with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of sugar (that will make the crust nice and golden when it cooks), then add a little water and form a ball of dough.

You can leave it to rest if you have time. On the other hand, if it's a mirabelle plum tart emergency, you can also pop it straight into the mold. Arrange the plums, sprinkle with sugar (very little is needed if the fruits are ripe and oozing with sweetness), bake for about 30 minutes in a moderately hot oven. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tadaa!

Last minute news: Clumbsycook, from Lisbon, tells me Mirabelles are also to be found in Portugal, where they are called Ameixas Amarelas! How groovy is that, seriously.

Comments

[Hopie]

A mirabelle plum tart emergency! I feel like I'm having one of those right now! ;-) Funny how we both used mirabelles in our latest posts.

To katerina - Being able to compare, I would say that mirabelles are less tart/sweeter than classic plums (at least the skin, 'cause that's usually the tart part). I'm from the Northeastern US, which isn't Canada, but I think the climates or more similar than Canada and France.

[Pad]

Hey sis' 'sup? A lil' mouse called Mad tell me that one of your pictures ( the "chopped up fennel" one I think ) had been chosen by Foodgawker. So? True or not? Well I hope it's real and in that case it's good for you sis', good for you and for colloquialcookin'.

[Jude]

Wow.. I like how the tips are slightly burnt... Really nice touch.
Still cracking up over the fennel head, by the way. :)

[valerie]

j'adore les mirabelles, autant te dire que j'en fais une cure en ce moment et je n'ai même pas eu le temps de faire une belle recette avec !!!

[Katerina]

That is a beautiful tart! I wonder whether you can use some of the local plums in season in Canada right now - is it a tart plum?