Here's the proof of the pudding …
The lemon pots
– just add raspberries
The compote
– a deep rich colour and it tastes as good as it looks – however you use it.
The assembly
– it's almost a shame to dig in – oh well someone has to.
Lots of choices to suit you – hope you find it useful.
Then there's :
Cherry and Raspberry Compote
350g cherries, stoned – can use frozen
150g caster sugar
juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsps)
150g raspberries – can use frozen
4 tbsp water or juice from defrosted fruit
Pour the water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place on a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until they have released some juice but are not overcooked. If you are using frozen cherries you will have the fruit juices when defrosted – use this juice instead of the water and reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.
Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then blitz the compote and pass through a sieve. You'll get 400ml. Chill before serving or divide and freeze a portion for another day.
Or you might like :
Strawberry compote
500g ripe strawberries, hulled
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Cut the strawberries in half – or quarters if large – place in a large saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer. Cover and cook for 3/5 minutes until dark in colour and syrupy. Compote can be store in fridge for up to 2 weeks. Again you can split the batch into two and freeze one for a rainy day.
If you prefer a smooth compote blitz and pass through a sieve.
As you can see it's not a difficult recipe, hulling the berries, i.e. removing the green leaf on the top and the stalk below, takes a little time but it's worth every second. You can buy a kitchen implement to do the job if you wish but using a paring knife and cutting in a circular motion – carefully - it'll do the job just as well.
Finally!
Raspberry Coulis
200g raspberries
200g strawberries, hulled and halved
75g icing sugar, sifted
Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Add the icing sugar and continue to cook the fruit for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen the coulis. Strain through a sieve pushing the fruit through with the back of a spoon and set aside to cool. Fridge until needed.
Actually you could call the coulis either raspberry or strawberry since it contains equal amounts of both.
Phew, I think that's just about it!
