A berry nice treat

I’M NOT sure why gooseberries haven’t had quite the same revival and surge of popularity in recent times that rhubarb has, but I totally love them. Everyone should have a couple of gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes in their garden as well as a few rhubarb stools.

They are all perennial, so once you’ve chosen good varieties and planted them, they will delight you year after year. I will concentrate here on green gooseberries, which although later than usual this year are now perfect for tarts, pie, fools and sauces. By a fortuitous coincidence in nature, elderflowers bloom in the hedgerows all over the country just at the time the green gooseberries are best for cooking. Mind you, it takes an act of faith to pick the green under-ripe berries at present as they are still hard as hailstone — they may not seem palatable but trust me, they make the best desserts and are even more delicious if you add a couple of elderflowers while they are bubbling away in the pot or oven.

A compote of green gooseberries flavoured with these wild blossoms is delicious alone, with carrageen moss pudding or panna cotta. It’s vital that the berries burst in the elderflower-flavoured syrup, otherwise they will be too tart, so don’t worry about the appearance, it should look like stewed gooseberries. This compote is good served warm with rice pudding or chilled and also lasts in the fridge for a week or more.