Far Breton with prunes (Pruneaux d'Agen)

This summer in France: fresh, ripe apricots and cherries that we bought - depending on the season - on the side of the road, ate with relish and whose seeds we children spit out of the window of the moving car from the back seat... pain d'épice, the typical French spiced bread , which you definitely shouldn't only eat at Christmas time, but also when it's over 30°... Carambars (yes, even delicatessen daughters are not immune to industrial sugar and stupid jokes in candy wrappers...) and the Pruneaux d'Agen : so wonderfully sweet, so sticky, so deep black-purple, so good!

For me, the Pruneaux d'Agen are among the most beautiful culinary memories of my childhood summers.

Since last week we finally have the exquisite prunes in our range. And I have to say that Marc Peyrey's plums are even better than I remember: they are simply much juicier and more aromatic.

If you're not sure what to do with it: you can eat it just like that or cook hearty dishes with it, such as an oriental tagine or duck breast with plum...

But today I want to start with a simple and quick dessert, true to the motto “first things first”. There is a very classic dessert that is sold in almost every bakery in Brittany and that was once invented by Breton sailors: the Far Breton aux Pruneaux, a kind of flan with plums.

I stole the recipe below from Aurélie Bastian's blog "French Cooking", who in turn got it from the grandmother of a Breton friend. So if that's not a reference...!

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 1/2 liter milk
• 50 grams of sugar
• 100 grams of flour
• 30 grams of salty raw milk butter
• 6 eggs (available in our store)
• 100 grams Pruneaux d'Agen (prunes)
• 3 tablespoons rum or, as a non-alcoholic alternative, black tea (we also have rum)
• Warm water

Preparation:

1. Heat milk, sugar and butter together until butter and sugar are melted.
2. In the meantime, let the plums steep with the rum (or a tea bag) and the hot water for about 5 minutes. Pat the plums dry (e.g. with kitchen roll) and coat them in a little flour.
3. Mix eggs and flour and slowly pour in the milk mixture.
4. Pour the dough into a mold and distribute the plums in it.
5. Bake in the oven at 180°C for 40 minutes.
6. Bon appetite!

When I first took a bite of the still warm far, I found it very eggy (is that even a word?) and would have said feel free to leave out one of the 6 eggs listed. When cooled, however, it tasted absolutely balanced and my French father decided that this is exactly how a Far Breton should taste... So everything was done right again :)

Two small notes at the end: firstly, I think our Pruneaux d'Agen are so aromatic and great that soaking them in rum/tea is not absolutely necessary. But of course that's entirely up to you...

And secondly, in my opinion, the fare is enough for more than 4 people. I would plan it for about 6.

And now it's your turn. Have fun imitating and enjoying!

Our wine recommendation: Classically, a red wine that doesn't have too strong tannins goes well with such a concentrated dessert. Or even a nice port wine !

However, I tried it this week with our new Portuguese white wine Manda Chuva and loved the combination. It has a crunchy fruit and a nice salty minerality that balance this somewhat compact flan well.

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You can find the original recipe at www.franzoesisch-kochen.de