Best In Season - August - written by Chef Consultant, Celia Brooks
Blackberries Beckon
Beautiful, bountiful British berries are busting out all over the markets and hedgerows this month. If you know where to look, blackberries are your best bet for a totally free-of-charge foraged bounty, plucked from prickly brambles in urban and rural green spaces and dangling off many a garden wall. Cultivated British blackberries, mostly grown in Scotland, are buxom, sweet and juicy and often the sheer size of them is truly eye-popping, so totally worth buying at their seasonal best right now.
Pack a small crush-proof container with a lid (and maybe some leather gloves) next time you go for a walk so you don’t miss out on the opportunity to grab this most prolific and versatile of August foraged fruits. Even if you just pluck a few - do mind the vicious thorns - you can freeze them and keep building up your supply until you have enough for a show-stopping recipe. (Top tip: rinse the berries, allow to dry a bit, then place loose on a foil-lined tray and freeze until solid, then pop into a freezer bag.) Pick only the ones that are fully black (no red bobbles) and that come off the plant without resistance to ensure ripeness - unless you are making jam, in which case a few unripe ones will add a desirable sharpness and help the jam set due to the high level of pectin, plus you’ll be adding loads of sugar anyway.
Blackberries are rammed with immune-boosting antioxidants that protect you from toxins as you conquer the world, so they’re ideal for a healthy breakfast. Add fresh or frozen berries or a few frozen or thawed spoonfuls of vitamin-packed puree (see below) to your daily smoothie, or stir through yoghurt with honey.
If you’ve got a haul of fresh wild or shop-bought blackberries, one of the best ways to prepare them is to cook them down to a slurry with a wee bit of water, strain through a sieve, cool and freeze in small quantities. Voila - you have a dazzling, nutritious purple puree that you can use to brighten up a multitude of treats. (You can add a touch of sugar while cooking the puree if desired, but it’s not strictly necessary.)
For an instant dessert, thaw some blackberry puree and fold it through whipped cream sweetened with elderflower cordial for a fool - finish with a few lavender blossoms to make it a totally floral sensation. Swirl it into or on top of a cheesecake. Dribble it over vanilla ice cream. Whole blackberries - fresh or frozen - can be paired with apples or pears in crumbles, galettes and tarts. Add the berries to cake batter for purple-flecked teatime joy - then stir some puree into the icing mixture for a flamboyant frosting.
On the savoury side, fresh blackberries pair well with pork, game, fluffy cream cheeses such as goat’s curd, and leafy summer salads with walnuts and a tangy-sweet vinaigrette. This month, the world is your purple oyster!
Summer Berry Gratin
From “Low-Carb & Gluten-Free Vegetarian” by Celia Brooks, published by Pavilion Books
Makes 6 servings
To enjoy this at its absolute best, a powerful grill / broiler is the key, so that the berries are quickly heated to the point of nearly bursting – then they collapse on the tongue.
Ingredients
400g mixed berries, especially blackberries, raspberries, blueberries
1 tbsp icing sugar or sweetener of choice
150g cream cheese
75ml whipping cream
3 tbsp icing sugar or sweetener of choice
coarsely grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon (2 tbsp approx)
Method
Heat the grill / broiler to its highest setting. Place the berries in a gratin dish and toss 1 tbsp icing sugar through them.
Beat together the cream cheese, cream, 3 tbsp icing sugar, and lemon juice. Spoon over the berries in an even layer covering most of the surface, leaving a border of berries around the edge. Sprinkle the lemon zest over the top.
Place under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, or until the topping is patched with gold and the berries are swollen. Serve immediately.