Right now, mid July, we have gooseberries and raspberries growing in the garden and I’ve been enjoying picking up punnets of blackcurrants and redcurrants from local lane-side stalls. I love soft summer fruits - who doesn’t - but wanted to create a simple recipe that enhanced their flavours without dousing them in too much sugar, that kept some of their shape whilst softening them a little, and added a touch of elderflower flavour as the last of the flowers subside from the bushes. For this recipe I used elderflower cordial, made with my son Otto a couple of weeks earlier, and decorated with fresh elderflowers.
Feel free to change the quantities of each fruit according to what you have available to you or that needs using up.
This recipe was created for Episode 6 of my podcast Breakfast & Beyond in which I shared conversations on sustainable living, over breakfast, with Amanda Winwood of Cornish skincare company Made for Life Organics.
Recipe: Elderflower Poached Summer Fruits
Serves 4 - 8 according to portion size
Ingredients:
200ml elderflower cordial
1 star anise
75g gooseberries
75g redcurrants
75g blackcurrants
100g raspberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
Method:
Prepare the fruits: top, tail and halve the gooseberries; remove stalks from the remaining berries.
Place the elderflower cordial and star anise in a small to medium sized saucepan. Bring up to simmer.
Place the gooseberries in the saucepan, simmer for one minute.
Add the rest of the fruits, simmer for one further minute until fruits have softened but still hold some shape.
Remove saucepan from heat, add chia seeds and stir well. Leave cool.
Remove star anise before serving.
Eat when cool and chia seeds have absorbed some of the liquid, or store in the fridge.