A couple of months ago everything seemed late. The asparagus limped in, I moaned about the gooseberries, English cherries stumbled into the middle of July. Now things seem to have concertinaed alarmingly. The girolles are flooding in from Scotland, France and Serbia while Kent is seeing the earliest Discovery apples in recorded history.

And then there are the plums. Strangely, we have already made 20 litres of rich plum chutney to accompany our Lancashire and Cheddar cheeses in a couple of months’ time, profiting from a glut of quetsche plums on the Paris market. A quetsche is a deep violet-brown colour with sweet yellow flesh and they make an extremely good eau de vie in Alsace. What is strange is that they are normally harvested in September or even October.

I am more worried about the mirabelles. My more avid readers will be aware that I have something of a passion for the mirabelle, a cherry-sized plum that first arrives in the market with a greenish tint to its ochre colour that develops into a deep mustard yellow before it positively, and literally, bursts with sweetness. I bottle large quantities of these plums, after lightly poaching them in a light vanilla and white wine syrup, for consumption in the months to come.

I am worried because I may have missed the boat already. My lady in Rungis has promised to try and get me some mirabelles in the Paris market next week. If I really am too late, there will at least be the consolation of the greengage. These small, sweet plums are like a rich dessert wine, intensely sweet and liquorous. They are not, however, the stuff of an English pudding. A plum pie made with little sugar and served with unsweetened cream is a foodstuff rather than a sweetmeat. This open tart with a yeast dough has a rustic substantial quality and is as good (and easy) a way as any to appreciate a Victoria plum.

Rowley Leigh is the chef at Le Café Anglais
rowley.leigh@ft.com
More columns at www.ft.com/leigh

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Plum tart

The tart ring helps to impose a little discipline on proceedings but this tart could be made open like a pizza if desired.

Ingredients
1 tsp dry yeast
pinch of sugar
60ml warm water
150g flour
½ tsp salt
grated zest of a lemon
1 large egg
80g unsalted butter
500g Victoria or other plums
3 tbs brown caster sugar

● Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and set it in a warm place . Combine the flour, salt and lemon zest in a bowl and make a well. Break the egg into the middle, add the softened butter and pour in the yeast mixture, which should be foamy with bubbles. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a soft, smooth dough. Dust it with flour and gather into a ball. Set it in a clean bowl and cover with cling film or a kitchen cloth. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it is doubled in bulk. This should take 45 minutes to an hour.
● Use a 9-inch tart ring with a removable bottom. Flatten the dough, place it in the centre of the pan, and press it out to the edge using either your knuckles or the heel of your hand. Add only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. If the dough shrinks back while you’re shaping it, cover with a towel and let it relax for 20 minutes before you finish pressing it out. It should be thin on the bottom and thicker at the sides, about ¼ inch higher than the rim of the ring.
● Cut the plums in half, removing the stones. Insert the plums at an angle into the pastry in a close-fitting concentric circle and then sprinkle with two tablespoons of the sugar. Leave the tart to prove for 30 minutes and then bake in a medium hot oven (180°C) for a further 30 minutes. Sprinkle the tart with the remaining sugar and bake for five minutes more before removing from the oven and allowing to cool. Best eaten half an hour later, lukewarm with some crème fraîche or clotted cream.