GOOSEBERRY THIS AND THAT!

Welcome to the 2008 Gooseberry Season for the Organic Farm. Here are some of the favourite recipes collected over the past several years from the members of the Veggie Coop. Look them over and see if you can find something which appeals to you. For example, there are a couple of recipes such as gooseberry fool and gooseberry relish, where it is obvious how to half the recipe. If you see something which takes more gooseberries than you have, I guess you will have to wait it out or freeze them until you have a big enough “batch” to work up, the way Kathy Mackey did for her Gooseberry Sorbet recipe. We expect more in the next few weeks. E-mail us and let us know how you get along with these recipes. If you have some to add, we will be glad to get them. Hint. Hint. We are still waiting for the gooseberry sauce recipe, for baked chicken, one of our members told us about last year. (Melba Rabinowitz, August/08)

GOOSEBERRY SOUP (contributed by Cathy Mackey)
Serve ice cold on a hot
day or at room temperature in the winter

About a quart of ripe gooseberries (yes, good and pink) just rinsed but no need to top or tail. Bring to a slow boil in equal amount of water for 6-8 minutes. Put through a course sieve to get rid of seeds but press as much pulp as you can. Add the juice and finely grated rind of a lemon, a dash of cinnamon and cloves and let cool. Add sugar to taste. - Add sugar once it's cooled because it will taste more acid when it's warm and you may end up with too much sugar. Blend in fresh cream. Chill and serve with a dollop of sour cream and a mint leaf for decoration. Sometimes when serving to adults only, I add a cup or two of white wine.

GOOSEBERRY SORBET (Contributed by Kathy Mackey)

Stew gooseberries in water. Pass through a sieve to develop a pulp. It should be the consistency of thick pancake batter. If too much liquid, put pulp back on stove to simmer a bit longer. Let cool. Add finely grated lemon rind and sugar to taste. Do not make it too sweet, allow it to be a bit tart, after all this will be used to cleanse your palate between courses. Put into freezer till well
crystalized. With melon ball scoop out into wide glasses or small dishes, garnish with mint leaf or lemon balm and serve. If you want a deeper colour (gooseberries will be a dull pale pink) then add a few partridge berries when you begin. It will be a beautiful deep rose colour and much more appetizing. Enjoy!

The Side Story.
A few years ago, Mike and I had dinner with the Mackeys at the Cabot Club, Fairmont Hotel, St. John’s. Dave Thoms, the Sous Chef at that time made regular visits to the farm, to suggest things to grow and to see what was ready. That evening, he proudly served gooseberry sorbet, emphasizing it was made from gooseberries grown on the Organic Farm. That Christmas, Kathy invited us for the celebration and served gooseberry sorbet, she made from the gooseberry pulp she had frozen from the summer.

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GOOSEBERRY RELISH (contributed by Joyce Hansen)

1 quart gooseberries 1 cup white sugar
½ cup vinegar ½ tsp salt
½ inch length cinnamon stick 3/4 tsp whole cloves in bag or tea egg

Wash and stem the berries. Add other ingredients.
Boil 20-30 minutes until thick. Pack in sterile jars.
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GOOSEBERRY PIE (contributed by Joyce Hansen)

1 quart gooseberries 1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp flour 1 tsp lemon juice 3 tsp butter

Pastry for two crust pie. (I use the recipe on the Tender flake Lard box,)
To avoid soggy bottom crust, brush the raw pastry with egg white.
Moisten the edge of pie crust with milk. Put in the berries mixed with
flour, sugar, and lemon juice. Dot the top with butter. Put slits
in cover crust for steam to escape. Bake in hot oven (400 F) for 15 min.
Reduce heat to 350 F for 40 minutes.
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GOOSEBERRY TART (From Chuck Davis and The New Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book)

Pastry
1/2 C sugar
1 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1 T butter melted
a small bit of milk just to moisten with
1 egg beaten

Filling
1 egg
1C sugar (scant)
1T flour
2 C gooseberries
Mix pastry and roll
1/2 for bottom crust
1/2 for lattice top

Mix filling and pour in crust.
Lattice strips on top.
Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.

GOOSEBERRY FOOL (from Friends of Botanical Garden Cook Book)
(Easily makes a half recipe)

1 quart ripe gooseberries 1 cup sugar
2 cups water 1 pint heavy cream

1. Top and stem the berries.
2. Stew in water until tender.
3. Pass through a sieve to remove the skins. (The sieve might
remove the top and stem which would eliminate Step 1.)
4. Add the sugar and stir.
5. Whip the cream and carefully fold in the berry puree.
6. Pour into glass bowl or individual dishes and chill.

GOOSEBERRY PICKLES (Easily makes a half recipe)

Soak Overnight: 6 quarts cleaned gooseberries
6 cups chopped onions
3 cups sugar
1.75 cups vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
In the morning add: 2 Tbsp pickling spice
2.5 tsp cinnamon
Bring to a boil and simmer until soft.
Pour into hot sterilized jars.

BLUEBERRY AND GOOSEBERRY PIE (contributed by Maureen Volk)

“This is a variation on my blueberry pie recipe, using approx. half blueberries and half gooseberries. It worked and is a little more tart than just using blueberries. Good Luck”

Prepare pastry for 2-crust 9-inch pie. Combine:
2 cups of blueberries
2 cups of gooseberries
1 cup sugar (use a bit less if using only blueberries)
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 (generous) teaspoons of cinnamon (less generous if only blueberries)
dash of salt

Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Fill. Dot with one tablespoon of butter. (If using only blueberries, also sprinkle with 1 tsp of lemon juice.) Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam. Seal. Bake at 400 F for 35 to 40 minutes.
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