Plum

These tart pastries are best straight out of the oven, but if you have any left over (or if you make extra), they're nice for breakfast, too.

Here, chicken thighs and drumsticks roast on one side of a sheet pan while, on the other, a trio of tomatoes (plum, grape, and sun-dried) intensifies in flavor along with crusty potato and briny olives.

To intensify the flavor of the compote, Jeanne cooks the plums with their pits. Any leftover compote would be delicious spooned over vanilla ice cream.

If plums aren't available, pears are an easy alternative. And with calories this low, go ahead—indulge in seconds!

These warm, pudding-like individual desserts are the perfect use for those last-of-the-season plums. If you'd like, sift some powdered sugar over the clafoutis before serving.

Puttanesca is usually a pasta sauce, but here the addition of beans to the spicy blend of tomatoes, basil, and olives turns it into a versatile, satisfying side dish.

This sweet-savory condiment is delicious with roasted or grilled meats.

You might expect to find smoked duck breast in a sultry, sensual main-course salad like this one, but here we use smoked turkey, which makes it a lot more affordable and a little bit more robust. Both good things.

The sorbet can also be made with pluots or plumcots (plum-apricot hybrids).

The intense flavor of grilled plums is delicious with roasted duck.

Port gives this dessert a sophisticated flavor.

A thin layer of plum jam beneath the custard is visually gorgeous—it's a magenta pinstripe just under the pumpkin orange—and provides a surprisingly delicious twist, since the tart plums bring out the best in all the other traditional flavors of pumpkin pie.

Quick-pickled cabbage has a refreshing crunch, with a light saltiness enhanced by umeboshi (Japanese salted plums with purple shiso).

This pastry recipe was one of those rare revelations that send shock waves through our test kitchens: How utterly brilliant to make extra dough, freeze it, and then just grate it directly into the pans when you need it! Rowe makes these adorable little tarts with damson plums, but we've found that prune plums work just as well. Although the pastry and compote make enough for twice this many tarts, they keep beautifully and they are so good you will be glad to have extra on hand.

These classic candies (called sweetmeats by the British) look sinful but are little more than dried apricots, figs, and plums dusted with nuts, cocoa, or sugar.

Chef Floyd Cardoz of Tabla in New York City is known for blending Indian spices with local ingredients. Here, plums are cooked with star anise, clove, cinnamon, and ginger for a chutney that's perfect with bread and cheese.

Chef Scott Boswell of Stella! in New Orleans keeps it simple: Sweet plum wedges are served with greens, goat cheese, and a bright vinaigrette.

From chef Alex Seidel at Fruition Restaurant in Denver, a beautiful tarte Tatin with plums standing in for the apples. This can also be served with vanilla ice cream instead of the orange crème fraîche.

At 26 Brix in Walla Walla, Washington, chef Mike Davis takes plums to the savory side—where they bring a bit of acidity to a spicy sauce for pork.