I had gone shopping for broad beans, some tissue-thin slices of Spanish ham wrapped in waxed paper and a ball or two of mozzarella. Then I spotted a mass of tiny fruits in paper punnets, tightly packed into wooden trays, glistening like open jewel boxes. There were red and white currants, raspberries and blackcurrants, but best of all gooseberries: pale green baubles fit for a pie, a crumble, or the softest jam.
Their stunning sourness needs balancing with a little sugar. I exercise caution when up-ending the sugar bag into the pan of goosegogs. Too much can render the fruit pointless.
Simmered with sugar and a little water, gooseberries make a smashing sauce for a fat-rimmed pork chop. Its blissful habit of falling to a silky purée makes it an appropriate fruit for a crumble, especially one whose surface is pleasingly gritty with Demerara sugar.
This year’s first haul of berries went for chutney: not the brown sticky condiment of supermarket cheese sandwiches, but a pale, eau de nil sour jam, plump with golden sultanas and orange tomatoes. It was a preserve to lift the flatness of a pork pie or slithers of cold pork. A conserve to make your eyes sparkle.
To give a silkiness to the chutney I bubbled two-thirds of the berries down to a jammy consistency, then threw in a final handful that turned opaque and stayed whole – welcome bursts of sourness among the sweet-sharp conserve. And to go with it, an unimaginably useful cut-and-come-again terrine, its juniper-studded meat flashed with fresh apricots.
Gooseberry chutney
Stir regularly throughout the process as, like jam, chutney has a habit of sticking and catching on the base of the pan. Sterilise your preserving jars with boiling water from the kettle (the lid, too), to help the chutney keep for a few weeks.
Makes at least 2 x 400g jars
golden caster sugar 250g
onion 250g
yellow or orange tomatoes 300g
gooseberries 1 kg
golden raisins 200g
cider vinegar 150ml
white wine vinegar 150ml
cardamom pods 15
black peppercorns 12
coriander seeds 1 tsp
Directions
Peel and roughly chop the onion, then put it into a deep, heavy-based, non-reactive saucepan. Cut the tomatoes into quarters then put them in the pan, together with the onion, over a moderate heat, adding the raisins and the vinegars.
Crack the cardamom pods with a mortar or rolling pin and extract the black seeds. Crush them lightly, then stir into the chutney with the peppercorns and coriander seeds. Tip three-quarters of the gooseberries into the pan and bring to the boil.
As soon as the mixture boils, lower the heat so the chutney simmers slowly, then add a generous teaspoon of salt. Leave at a calm bubble, stirring regularly, for 30 minutes. Set the oven at 150C/gas mark 2. Tip the sugar into a roasting tin or baking dish and warm in the oven for 10 minutes, then add the warm sugar to the chutney. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Stir in the remaining gooseberries, turning up the heat and letting the mixture boil for 2 or 3 minutes until it feels thick on the spoon. Remove from the heat. Have ready the sterilised jars. Ladle the chutney into the jars then seal tightly.
Pig’s cheek and apricot terrine
A terrine for dipping into, to serve with the chutney above, will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. You’ll need hot toast, and lashings of butter.
Serves 8-10
fresh apricots 250g
onion 1, medium
garlic 2 cloves
butter 30g
tarragon leaves 3 tbsp, chopped
minced pork 500g
smoked streaky bacon 200g
pork cheeks 300g
juniper berries a handful
You will need a 1 litre capacity, high-sided baking dish or terrine
Directions
Peel the onion and roughly chop it. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the chopped onion and cook for 5 or 6 minutes until translucent. Peel and crush the garlic and stir into the onion and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Halve the apricots, remove and discard the stones, then cut each half into 2 or 3 pieces. Remove the onion from the heat.
Put the pork mince in a large mixing bowl. Roughly chop three-quarters of the bacon, and add to the pork. Remove any white sinew from the pork cheeks with a knife then cut each cheek into 4 thin strips (if the pieces are too large they will be tough), then add to other meats.
Season the meat with salt and black pepper then combine with the apricot and onion mixture. Put the meat into the terrine or baking dish, packing it into the corners and lightly smoothing the surface. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Arrange the reserved rashers of smoked streaky bacon over the surface, tucking them down the side of the meat, leaving gaps of meat showing on top. Add the juniper berries, pressing them into the meat. Cover the dish tightly with clingfilm and then kitchen foil.
Put the terrine into a roasting tin then pour in enough hot (not boiling) water to come half way up the sides of the dish. Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 90 minutes. Remove the pâté from the oven and place a heavy weight on top to press it down. As soon as the pâté is cool, transfer it to the fridge, still topped with its weight, and chill overnight.
Serve the terrine, together with slices of hot toast.
