Blackberry Way

When I was little, I used to go blackberry picking with my mum – and I, in turn, took my own children with my friends, Claire and Beryl, and their children.  Our babies have got babies of their own now and I’ve just spent a lovely few days with my grandson, picking- trying to persuade little fingers to put as many of the berries he puts in his mouth into his basket! There are so many things you can do with blackberries – apart from sweet things, you can make cordials, savoury sauces – and, of course, you can just freeze them as I do (just lay them out onto a tray until frozen and bag) and eat every morning with porridge or yogurt for a dose of vitamin C throughout the winter. 

This year, presumably because of the heat, blackberries are early – and, also going over early, so make the most of them, picking in the morning when it is cooler – although there is nothing like a sun warmed blackberry to taste straight from the bush!

Blackberry Cordial

• 750g ripe blackberries
• 2 limes, zest and juice of 1, plus slices to serve
• 350g granulated sugar

Place the blackberries and lime zest in a medium saucepan with 100ml water and cook over a very low heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly, until the fruit collapses. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a jug, pushing gently to extract all the juice. Transfer the juice to a medium saucepan and add the sugar – you should have about 500ml juice, but if you have significantly more or less, bear in mind that you’ll need 350g sugar for every 500ml of juice, so just adjust the quantities accordingly. Discard any seedy pulp left in the sieve (or keep it and sweeten it up with a little honey before stirring through a bowl of yogurt for breakfast). Gently stir the blackberry juice and sugar mixture over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, then increase the heat and bring just to the boil. Once it boils, immediately remove from the heat, then stir in the lime juice and pour the cordial in sterilised bottles. Dilute 1 part cordial with 5 parts chilled water.

Blackberry Fridge Jam (as the name implies, you keep this in the fridge once made.  It has half the amount of sugar normally used so better for you.  I put it into small jars so that I am opening and using quickly – you can also put the whole jar and jam into the freezer)

Weigh however many blackberries you have and put in a bowl.  Weigh out half that weight in preserving sugar and add to the bowl.  Mash the fruit up slightly and leave aside for no less than an hour.  Put into a saucepan, bring to the boil and stir a rolling boil for exactly 5 minutes.  Allow to cool and put into sterilised jars.

You can make this type of jam with any fruit – just stick to the ratio of one of fruit to half of sugar.

Blackberry, Elderflower and Mint Fool

• 200g ripe blackberries
• 1 – 2 tbsp elderflower cordial
• 60g caster sugar
• a few fresh mint sprigs
• 150ml double cream
• 125ml full-fat Greek yogurt

Put the blackberries in a saucepan with the elderflower cordial, caster sugar and fresh mint sprigs. Set the pan over a medium heat and gently bubble the mixture for 10-15 minutes until the berries soften and release their juices, then reduce to a thick coulis. Remove from the heat and let it cool a little, then taste, adding more sugar or a dash more cordial if needed. Remove the mint sprigs. Allow the mixture to cool completely (it will become more like jam in consistency). Pour the double cream into a large bowl then, using an electric mixer, whisk to soft-medium peaks. Stir in the Greek yogurt, then fold in the cooled blackberry coulis, creating a swirled effect. Spoon the fool into a dish and serve straightaway, or cover and chill for up to 6 hours.

Blackberry Salad

• baby spinach/ watercress/ rocket leaves (or a mixture if you have it)
• fresh blackberries
• crumbled gorgonzola or blue cheese
• good-quality olive oil
• freshly-squeezed orange, lemon, or lime juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Walnut pieces

Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients.  Toss the leaves and blackberries together with the vinaigrette and serve topped with crumbled cheese and walnuts for crunch.  I will look so beautiful with the light green leaves and purple blackberries, you will be loath to eat it – but do!