GOOSEBERRIES
THE COMEBACK FRUIT
All too often overlooked in favour of the strawberry, gooseberries have a sweet-sour tartness, giving them a versatility other berries lack and making the green heroes a star in savoury dishes as well as sweet. Here are five brilliant reasons to put them back on the menu
RECIPES AND FOOD STYLING EMILY GUSSIN AND POLLYANNA COUPLAND
PHOTOGRAPHS INDIA WHILEY-MORTON BACKGROUNDS POLLYANNA COUPLAND
Gooseberry and elderflower cobbler
Paneer skewers with gooseberry raita
The warming hug of ground ginger goes hand in hand with gooseberry tang in this wonderfully simple cake, enriched with ground almonds and yogurt
Gooseberry, ginger and almond loaf cake
A frangipane tart is a great medium for fruity flavours – especially when the fruit are plump, honey-glazed gooseberries. Chunks of white chocolate add a final note of sweetness
Gooseberry and white chocolate frangipane tart
Serves 6-8
Hands-on
time 30 min, plus 1½ hours resting
Oven
time 1 hour
Specialist
kit 23cm fluted tart tin with a removeable base
DON’T WASTE IT
Not sure what to do with a glut of gooseberries? They freeze well, so make sure you pick more than you need and keep them on hand for use later in the year.
EASY SWAPS
This recipe works well
with shop-bought shortcrust pastry too if you don’t fancy making your own.
• 160g plain flour, plus extra to dust
• ¼ tsp salt
• 80g unsalted butter, chilled and chopped, plus extra to grease
• 1 medium free-range egg
• Splash ice-cold water (optional)
For the filling
• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g light brown soft sugar
• 1 medium free-range egg
• 125g ground almonds
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 200g gooseberries
• 30g runny honey
• 20g white chocolate, roughly chopped
1 To make the pastry, put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until you have a sandy texture. Add the egg and pulse again until it comes together as a dough, adding a splash of cold water if needed. Tip out onto a clean surface and bring together into a ball (but don’t overwork). Flatten the ball into a disc, then put in a covered bowl or wrap and rest in the fridge for an hour.