Thursday, 18 May 2006

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Brian May's mum's Blackberry Purée

The curly-haired rocker shows he's a bit of a mummy's boy at heart

'My mum made it like this… '

First pick the blackberries while they are at their best – in late summer. Only use those that are ready to be picked – they should be black all over and come off the plant with only a gentle pull. Wear covering on the hands and arms – bramble bushes are vicious! About 200 luscious berries is a good number to make enough purée for two luxury helpings or to store in the fridge to sip at for treats over a week or so.
Put the blackberries in a pan with a tsp of water to get them started and 2 or 3tbsp sugar (this is where it gets naughty), though you can adjust the amount of sweetening to taste. Gently bring to the boiling, stirring with a wooden spoon that you don't mind getting stained dark purple. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring and squashing the berries until the liquid becomes an even paste – not longer than 5 mins or so because vitamin C doesn't survive very long at 100°C.
Now if you'd had a couple of freshly scrumped Bramley's cooking apples, they could have been chopped up and put in the pan with the berries for a thicker texture, greater volume of resulting purée and an extra tang. But the blackberries on their own give the purest flavour.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour into a metal sieve over a glass or china bowl. Use the wooden spoon to churn the paste around, squashing the juice through and leaving the seeds behind.
The pure red elixir can now be eaten or put in the fridge. It tastes really fabulous poured over ice cream or the 'junket' my mum used to make (a kind of vanilla blancmange) or as a sauce for fresh fruits or just spooned slowly into the mouth for a wicked pleasure. My daughter also enjoys the purée frozen into an ice lolly.
Warning – this stuff stains everything it touches – wear a napkin – and it's very acidic – go gently if your stomach is sensitive. But the flavour – it's a killer. Guaranteed to blast your taste buds into space!

Recipe from Cooking For Life compiled by Louise Robinson. For more info about this book, call 020-7793 4500 or visit www.wateraid.org.