Plum and Red Wine Soup

Name: Plum and Red Wine Soup
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: Serves six
Ingredients: 3 pounds ripe purple-skinned, red-fleshed plums; 1/4 cup mild honey; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 inch cinnamon stick; 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 2 strips orange zest; 1 sprig rose geranium (optional); 3/4 cup fruity red wine, such as a Beaujolais; 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 2 lighter-fleshed plums, very thinly sliced

By Martha Rose Shulman

Updated April 11, 2023

Plum and Red Wine Soup — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus at least 1 hour's refrigeration
Rating: 4(13)
Comments: Read comments

You could also call this ruby-colored, jam-like soup a compote. Look for plums with deep red flesh.

Featured in: The Fruits of Summer, Sip by Sip

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves six

3pounds ripe purple-skinned, red-fleshed plums
¼cup mild honey
½teaspoon vanilla extract
1inch cinnamon stick
⅛teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2strips orange zest
1sprig rose geranium (optional)
¾cup fruity red wine, such as a Beaujolais
¾cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the Garnish

2lighter-fleshed plums, very thinly sliced

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Cut the plums in half, cutting around the sides of the pits. You will remove the pits after the plums have simmered.
Step 2
Combine the plums with the honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, orange zest, rose geranium, wine and ½ cup of the orange juice in a heavy, medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick, rose geranium sprig and orange zest.
Step 3
Allow to cool, then remove the pits from the plums and transfer to a food mill fitted with the medium blade. Press the plums through the food mill into a bowl. Whisk the mixture to amalgamate. Cover and chill for at least an hour and for up to a day.
Step 4
Just before serving, whisk in the remaining orange juice. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with thin slices of lighter-fleshed plums and serve.