RECIPE FROM FOODFULLSTOP.COM - THE BEST QUALITY FOOD & DRINK, DIRECT FROM THE PRODUCER.

RECIPE FROM FOODFULLSTOP.COM - THE BEST QUALITY FOOD & DRINK, DIRECT FROM THE PRODUCER

Gooseberry Fool With Sponge Fingers

I was thinking about what to do with our first gooseberries which appeared in the garden last weekend. After some thought it seemed best to just make a classic. Here it is:

Ingredients

 Gooseberry Fool With Sponge Fingers

1kg gooseberries
100g caster sugar
3 heads of elderflower blossom, or a dessertspoon of elderflower cordial
400ml double cream

SPONGE FINGERS and no, you don't HAVE to make your own.
Makes about 40

5 egg yolks
125g sugar
5 egg whites
150g flour

Method

1. Tail the gooseberries and add them to a pan with the sugar and elderflower blossoms and 4tbsp water.

2. Cover and simmer on a very gentle heat for 20mins.

3. Discard the elderflower blossoms and liquidise the cooked gooseberries. Then pass through a sieve. Cool then taste to make sure it is sweet enough.

4. Whip up the cream and fold in the puree. Pour into glasses or one large bowl and chill.

If you decide to make the Sponge Fingers, this is how to do it.

1. Preheat the oven to 150C, or 300F. Whisk together the egg yolks with two-thirds of the sugar until the yolks are thick, pale and much increased in volume.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites, slowly adding half the remaining sugar until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Stir in the remaining sugar and then fold together the two mixtures. Sieve the flour and then sprinkle and fold it into the mixture, making sure it is thoroughly mixed, while at the same time trying not to deflate it too much.

3. Load the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large plain round nozzle. Pipe out lengths of mixture the size and thickness of a finger.

4. Dust the finger shapes with icing sugar and bake for 15 minutes. After removing the biscuits from the oven, dust them again with icing sugar and leave for five minutes before returning to the oven to finish.
 
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Venison is very good for your health. High in protein, like beef, but much lower in fat. It is also full of vitamin B, iron, phosphorous, zinc and selenium. (If you know what all those are).

Cooking wise, you can treat it like beef, the less exercised muscles can be cooked quickly and served pink. The shoulder suits a slow, gentle braise. The younger the deer, the more tender the meat will be. However, don't disregard an older beast, for once marinated and cooked slowly, it will taste delicious.

The gamey flavour goes well with sweet flavours, such as the sherry in the Pedro Ximinez recipe, otherwise, redcurrant jelly or port are excellent, as are rosemary and juniper, sweet carrots or squash.

In Britain we have several types of deer, the most common being Red deer, Fallow and Roe, but you can also find Sika and Muntjac. They are all very different and very delicious.