Sumac roast plums with cardamom cream & pistachio (Barquq bil Sumac w al Creama)
A simple and elegant stone fruit dessert from the new cookbook by Sami Tamimi
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
I am in summer mode over here, so this newsletter will take slightly different shape both in the next few weeks, and over the next couple of months as I head into my book tour. I hope you will stay with me and roll with the punches as this usually very-set newsletter format ebbs and flows while I’m on the road. I don’t plan this newsletter as I want it to be immediate and unscripted, so I’m going to surrender to the process and see what happens. Thanks for hanging with me.
I’ve yet to consume a sublime piece of stone fruit this year. I’ve been close, but that transcendent feeling of devouring THE perfectly ripe piece of succulent, fragrant fruit has, so far, eluded me.
Nevertheless, there’s a deadline to enjoying stone fruit that compels me to buy as much as I can, even if it’s substandard. The result is a lot of just okay fruit in my kitchen, satisfactory to be eaten fresh, fine for adding to salads, but best for cooking. My daughter and I made this excellent peach crisp by Yossy Arefi the other day. And today, I’m sharing a roasted plum recipe from an excellent new cookbook you should all know about.
If there was one word to describe the way Sami Tamimi cooks vegetables, it would be effortless. Over the past few years, probably since the pandemic, I have loved watching Sami whip up vibrant vegetable dishes in his home kitchen on social media. I love his approach, just simple, tasty dishes which allow vegetables to shine, without the fuss of endless prep and pretentious ingredients.
Of course, I was thrilled to hear that Sami had written an entire book about vegetables. In Boustany, Sami honours the legacy of his grandparent’s garden in Wadi Al Tufah in the city of Hebron, located in the southern West Bank. Sami writes lovingly about the joys of running around their Boustan (garden), “sun’s warmth on my skin and the rich soil beneath my feet”. He speaks of his grandfather’s pride in his garden, the abundance of the produce they picked from it, and his grandmother’s exuberant cooking.
The scenes that Sami describes and his stories of family, of love, and of legacy are so familiar, they could be my memories, or yours. There is such humanity in recognizing the experiences of others in our own. It is what connects us as humans who breathe, live and feel.
As Sami says in the introduction, Palestinians are known for their warm hospitality and strong community bonds. Family and community are highly valued, and celebrations often involve abundant, delicious food, bringing people together on festive occasions.
This book is resilience and strength. Thank you for sharing the generous and joyous food of Palestine with us Sami and thank you for allowing me to share this elegant roasted plum recipe with my readers.
To talk about food and abundance is extremely difficult while Gaza is starving. This week, I am donating proceeds from all new newsletter subscriptions to aid organizations such as World Central Kitchen, and PCRF who are working frantically to provide food and aid while the borders are (temporarily) open.
LINGER BOOK TOUR NEWS / I’m coming to Australia!
We have just announced two exclusive book events in Sydney and Melbourne. These will be my ONLY public events in Australia so I hope you will come along.
KINOKUNIYA, SYDNEY
in conversation with Jennifer Wong and Benjamin Law
Tuesday 26 August, 7pm
Book tickets here
READINGS, MELBOURNE
in conversation with Besha Rodell
Thursday 28 August, 6.15pm
Book tickets here
United States Book Tour details coming soon!
If you’d like a personally signed and/or personalized copy of LINGER, my wonderful friends at BOOKS ARE MAGIC are making it happen! Preorder vy 30th September and I’ll personally sign and personalize them. Great chance to grab holiday gift?
Sumac roast plums with cardamom cream & pistachio (Barquq bil Sumac w al Creama)
© Reprinted with permission from Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2025. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, by Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
Sami’s words: I have often made roast plums and other stone fruit over the years. It’s a simple dessert, yet nothing beats the scent of warm, spice- spiked fruit filling the space around the table after dinner. Double the number of plums and have some of the leftovers for breakfast with yogurt, or on warm toast spread with labneh or cream cheese.
Hetty’s words: I had lots of plums on hand so I ended up roasting 550g / 19 oz but didn’t increase the amount of the ingredients for the syrup and it worked just great. I also didn’t have lemons so I subbed with orange juice, which added a lovely floral edge. If you are vegan, simply substitute the honey with maple syrup and eat with coconut yoghurt (which is what I used in the photo because my cream was curdled). A final tip: the candied pistachios are out of this world and I definitely recommend doubling or tripling the recipe. A great holiday gift too.
Serves 4
8 plums (13 oz / 366g)
3 cardamom pods
1 tsp sumac
3 tbsp runny honey
zest of ½ orange
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 1/4 cups / 300ml heavy cream
3 tsp honey
heaping 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
For the candied pistachios
1/4 cup / 45g granulated sugar heaping
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp water
salt
7 tbsp / 70g pistachios
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Halve and pit the plums, then place cut side up in a roasting pan or baking dish in which they can lie snugly in a single layer.
Crack the cardamom pods, then tip the seeds into a mortar and pestle and grind them to a fine powder. Mix with the sumac, honey, orange zest, lemon juice and water, then drizzle this mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the plums are almost collapsing.
Meanwhile, make the candied pistachios. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and have it ready next to the stove. Put the sugar, cinnamon, water and 1⁄8 teaspoon of salt into a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar has almost dissolved, stirring occasionally. Add the pistachios and continue to cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally (to avoid the nuts browning too much), until all the liquid has evaporated and you can see crystallization forming on the nuts. Tip the nuts onto the lined baking sheet, and quickly spread them out to separate them. Leave to cool completely.
Place the cream, honey and ground cardamom in the bowl of a stand mixer, with a whisk attachment in place, and whip the cream on a medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form.
When ready to serve, divide the fruit and whipped cream between four plates and add a generous scattering of the candied pistachios.
Thanks for bringing up this excruciating topic intertwined with food, and sharing resources to donate ❤️
Beautiful and beautiful heartfelt words 💗