This is first in a short series of gooseberry recipes. There’s a glut, pretty much every year and I sometimes need to be reminded of what to do with the additional fruit. If you have recipe favorites  do share them in the comments below, I can never have too many ideas.

My mother made this wonderful rich and tart tasting crumble when I was a child, made with  ‘goosegogs’ from the bottom of the garden. 2 bushes, VERY thorny. Usually accompanied by vanilla ice-cream or thick yellow custard. As with all children I have ungratefully adapted her recipe, very slightly and called it my own.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas 4
Ingredients:

500g Gooseberries – washed, topped and tailed and drained, dull but necessary

80g Golden caster sugar – unrefined if possible

90g Flour – white, wholemeal doesn’t work as well

90g Oats – rolled or porridge

85g Demerara sugar

85g Butter – no margarine won’t do.

juice and rind of 1 Lemon

Method:

1. Mix cleaned gooseberries with sugar and spread in the bottom of an oven proof dish with lemon juice (approx 2 tbs)

2. Place flour and oats in a bowl adding lemon zest, butter and a pinch of salt, I know weird but it works. Rub together between your fingertips until you have a rough breadcrumb texture then mix though the demerera.

3. Layer the topping onto the gooseberries fairly evenly and place into the middle of a pre-heated oven for 40-45 mins until golden brown and crunchy on the top, the gooseberries swill probably be bubbling juice down the sides too.

Gooseberry crumble with thick yellow custard. Perfect.