Mirabelles de Lorraine - the delicious, small yellow plum fruit, famous in this region of France

Whilst in Lorraine, recently, we purchased some fresh Mirabelle plums or Mirabelle prunes, as they are also known.  Mirabelle is the French name for the delicious, small, yellow plum fruit from the Lorraine region, which comes from the Latin word "Mirabel", meaning ‘beautiful’ and ‘wondrous’; and it really is a lovely and delicious fruit, that we rarely see in Australia.  It is closely allied to the damson and bullace.

The Mirabelle plum has a small, oval shape, with a smooth-textured dark yellow flesh, which becomes flecked in appearance. It is known for being sweet and full of flavour. The Mirabelle is a specialty of the Lorraine region which apparently has an ideal climate and soil composition for its cultivation. This region produces 15,000 tons of Mirabelle prunes annually, which constitutes 80% of global commercial production.

There are two main types grown for fruit production in the Lorraine, one grown around Nancy (these are the ones we bought), known as the Mirabelle de Nancy, and is believed to have come to France in the 15th century  from the East.  These Mirabelles are usually eaten fresh, as they are a delicious, sweet fruit, full of flavour.  The second variety, the Mirabelle de Metz was first recorded in 1675, and is grown near Metz, about 60 kilometers north of Nancy, and is smaller, less hard, and less sweet, and so is very good for jam, jellies, preserves, for wine making and distilling. 

Since 1996 the Mirabelle de Lorraine has been recognized and promoted by the EU as a high-quality regional product, with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This label guarantees a minimum fruit size (22mm) and sugar content, and can only be used in a specific geographical zone of production.

The Mirabelle plum is the edible fruit of the prune tree, a cultivar of the plum tree of the genus Prunus. It is like other plums and is cultivated the same way. It is believed that the plum was cultivated from a wild fruit first grown in Asia Minor, the region lying between east of Bosporus between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.  With time it reached Europe and is now a specialty of the Lorraine region of France, which produces 15,000 tons of Mirabelle plums annually which account for 70% of the world production.  Ninety percent of the Mirabelle plums grown commercially in France are either made into jam, 70%, or ‘eau-de-vie’, 20%.

The Mirabelle reaches maturity during summer, and is harvested from December to mid- February, in our southern hemisphere, July to mid September in the northern hemisphere. The traditional method of shaking the trees is now mechanized, but the principle remains the same: the ripe fruits are shaken loose and collected in a net under the tree.
 
In recent years, this culinary plum has come back into popularity, with many chefs bringing it back onto their menus.  It has been difficult to source, however I found a supplier of the trees in Victoria and they sell online… Yalca Fruit Trees -.yalcafruittrees.com.au - check out their current catalogue.  Yalca is a family owned heritage fruit tree nursery, in Victoria, with a large range of both heritage and modern varieties of fruit trees available.  Unfortunately, the orders have closed for this year, but remember and order early next year.

Whilst in Lorraine and cooking on the barge, I added them to the sauce in my braised rabbit dish and used them as a garnish; I did the same with my slow roasted pork belly. I frequently added them to my morning muesli, as well as eating them fresh.  They also are lovely in tarts or simply poached with ice cream.

Tarte aux Mirabelles
These tarts were readily available in the patisseries in Nancy; they tasted delicious.  They are very easy to make. Until you are able to grow or source your own Mirabelles, substitute plums or any other stone fruit in season.

Pastry
250g plain flour
125g butter
2 tbsp icing sugar
5g salt
1 egg yolk
a little water

Filling
60g lightly toasted ground almonds
1.5 k Mirabelles
100g castor sugar
4g cinnamon powder
icing sugar for dusting

To prepare the pastry, place the butter, the flour and icing sugar in the food processor. Blitz just to combine. Add the egg and process until a smooth ball.  Do not over process the pastry.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for ½ - 1 hour.
Grease a 2.5 x 26cm round tart tin. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface, wrap it around the rolling pin and let it unroll over the flan or tart tin. Press it well into the edges of the tin and trim the pastry.  You can roll the pin over the tin to give a very clean, smooth edge.  (For very short pastry, such as a short crust pastry, cut the edge of the pastry 1 cm higher than the edge of the tin and fold it over as it is inclined to shrink during baking, even after chilling).  Dock the pastry base – that is prick with fork or with a pastry docker; this allows the steam to escape when blind baking.  Chill or freeze the pastry case for 30 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Blind bake the pastry by firstly lining the pastry with baking paper, then foil, covering the sides as well and fill with rice, dried beans, chick peas or pastry weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove paper, foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes until dry and crisp. Cool.

For the filling, scatter ground almonds over the pastry, stone and quarter the Mirabelles and place them neatly in circles, into the tart shell.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake for 20 minutes until the Mirabelles are starting to brown around the edges and are cooked.
If you have some fruit syrup, from some previously poached Mirabelle, reduce it and use it as a glaze for this tart.  After the first 10 minutes of cooking, brush over the glaze and return the tart to the oven for a further 10 minutes.  You could also substitute syrup from poached plums, peaches, pears or apricots.

Dust with some icing sugar and serve with a dollop of Chantilly cream.