Plum, White Chocolate, and Tarragon Parfait

Serves
serves 4
Time
8 hours

MATT TAYLOR-GROSS

The overt sweetness of white chocolate is tamed here by the addition of tart Greek yogurt. Chef John Karangis of Union Square Events serves it as a bed for juicy roasted plums and a sweet, anise-tinged tarragon white wine granita—it's an elegant way to end a summer dinner.

Featured in: An Elegant, Fruit-Forward Menu that Makes the Most of Summer Produce

Ingredients

For the Plums and White Chocolate Cream

Unsalted butter, for greasing
2 tbsp. sugar
4 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted
4 Green gage plums, halved and pitted
4 red pluots, halved and pitted
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. honey
4 whole star anise
8 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped
¹⁄₂ tsp. kosher salt
³⁄₄ cup heavy cream
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

For the Granita

2 ¹⁄₄ cups white wine
²⁄₃ cup sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ bunches (2 1/2 oz.) tarragon, stems removed, plus more leaves for garnish
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

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Instructions

Step 1

Make the plums: Heat the oven to 450°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter, then sprinkle with the sugar. In a large bowl, toss the plums and pluots with the lemon juice and honey, and then place skin side down in the baking dish along with the star anise. Bake the fruit until soft, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Step 2

Make the white chocolate cream: Place the chocolate and salt in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium-high until bubbles start to form around the edges, and then pour over the chocolate. Let the chocolate stand for 5 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is smooth. Stir in the yogurt and refrigerate until ready to use.

Step 3

Make the granite: In a medium saucepan, combine the white wine with the sugar, and 1 3⁄4 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from the heat and let cool to 140°. Stir four-fifths of the tarragon into the syrup and let stand for 4 hours to infuse. Pour the syrup through a fine sieve into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, stir in the lemon juice, and place in the freezer. Using the tines of a fork, stir the syrup every 30 minutes, scraping edges and breaking up any ice chunks as the mixture freezes, until the granita is slushy and frozen, about 3 hours.

Step 4

To serve, pipe some of the white chocolate cream into serving bowls and then top with 1 half of each plum and pluot. Finely chop the remaining tarragon and stir into the granita. Top each serving with some of the granite and garnish with more tarragon leaves.