Try these juicy ideas from Terry Farris for cooking sweet autumn plums to perfection

A fruit with dozens of varieties, shapes, sizes and colours, they are delicious eaten fresh or baked in puddings, pies and jams. Most are sweet and suitable for all purposes; the best-known exception is the damson, whose dark, rich colour and tangy flavour make it a favourite for jams and chutneys. Greengages are an old plum variety with tender green or yellow skin and flesh, and good for eating out-of-hand or used in baking. It is thought they get their English name from Sir Thomas Gage of Suffolk, whose gardener named it for the family after labels from trees brought over from France were lost. Many consider greengages to be one of the finest dessert plums.

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Apples and Plums
Serves 4

Prep time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes, plus 10 minutes resting

Ingredients

2 x pork tenderloin fillets
2 x red dessert plums
1 dessert apple
4 fresh sage leaves
salt and pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
white string for tying the meat

For the sauce:
15g butter
1 red dessert plum
1 dessert apple
200ml apple juice
200ml chicken stock

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Stone and chop the plums; peel, core and chop the apples, keeping the ones for the sauce separate. Chop the sage and mix with the fruit for the pork.

2. Make a slit down the middle of the fillets, cutting about halfway through. Open up the tenderloin, place a piece of cling film over and bash evenly with the side of a rolling pin to flatten slightly to about 1cm thickness. Season the meat with salt and pepper and lay the chopped fruit and sage down the middle of each fillet. Bring up the sides to cover the fruit and tie with pieces of string.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the fillets on all sides. Place in a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the same frying pan and cook the remaining plum and apple until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the juice and stock and boil until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper.

5. When the pork is done, allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving into medallions. You can serve the sauce chunky or blend in a blender or food processor and pass through a sieve to make it smooth.

6. Serve with rice or steamed new potatoes with the sauce poured over.

Quick and Easy Deep Dish Plum Pie

Use an old-fashioned deep, oval pie dish, one with a lip around the edge, about 1.5-litre capacity.

Serves 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients
750g ripe plums
75g golden caster sugar
Half tsp ground cinnamon
225g ready-rolled store bought shortcrust pastry
milk and sugar for glazing

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Cut the plums in half from top to bottom and remove the stones using a small paring knife. Pile the plums snugly in the pie dish, cut sides down and sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon.

2. Unroll the pastry and place the dish gently on top, then cut out an oval shape slightly larger than the rim of the dish. Wet the rim with a little water and lay the pastry on top, pressing gently to seal, trimming any excess pastry.

3. You can cut out shapes with any extra pastry, or just leave plain. Brush the top with the milk and sprinkle over a little sugar. This gives the pastry a nice crispy glaze. Make a couple of slits in the top to allow steam to escape, place the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Serve warm with custard or lightly whipped cream.

Greengage 'Basket' Pie

This pie is made without a dish or tin, you simply wrap the pastry over the edge of a pile of fruit and bake. Use a baking tray with a slight lip around the edge in case the fruit leaks. You can use any type of dessert plum you like.

Serves 6
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients
For the pastry:
175g plain flour
pinch of salt
75g butter, cold and cut into small cubes
cold water

For the filling:
750g greengages
75g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp semolina

Directions
1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Or you can do this in a food processor. Add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water and mix just until the mixture comes together. Bring together into a ball with your hands so there are no crumbs, flatten to a thick disc, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes while you prepare the fruit.

2. Cut the greengages in half and remove the stones. Toss in a bowl with all but one tablespoon of the sugar and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and lightly grease a large baking sheet.

3. When the pastry has rested, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a circle about 35cm/14ins in diameter. Don't worry if the edges are cracked and ragged. Loosen the pastry from the surface, gently flip one side over the rolling pin and move it onto the baking sheet.

4. Paint the pastry with some of the beaten egg, then sprinkle over the semolina (this absorbs the fruit juice and helps prevent the pastry going soggy). Pile the fruit in the centre, then turn up the edges of the pastry, making rough pleats, to partly cover the fruit and form a 'basket' to hold it in. Brush the turned-up pastry edges with the rest of the beaten egg and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the fruit soft.

5. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet before sliding onto a serving plate.