Gooseberries

Wonderful little summer fruit. Native to Europe, Northwest Africa and Southwestern Asia. They're the size of grapes, have the texture of an extra-ripe plum, and a sweet honey-like taste like elderflower nectar.

We were given a nice pint of them freshly picked from our relatives' farm in Somerset. We held them for awhile, not really knowing what to do apart from snack on them. But we could not eat them fast enough and as such, we decided to do a gooseberry crumble before they go off completely.

First ever working with gooseberries, here is my gooseberry crumble:
(disclaimer: this is my very "loose" "recipe" all done to taste and touch nothing exact)

For the crumble: 1 part butter to about 2 parts flour, to 1 part granulated sugar, to 1/2 part brown sugar. Then do your thing with extras like nuts and oats. Crumble them together to the consistency of really moist chunky sand (should hold and stay together if you try to squeeze between your hands)

The filling: Gooseberries, sugar to taste and just enough water to encourage a syrup. I added elderflower juice to enhance flavor and lemon thyme for kicks. I also added small dices of apples to bulk it up and for texture. Simmer them all together until gooseberry's skin just cracks a little...

Assemble in ramekins or make a big one in a casserole dish by pouring filling into them and
topping them off with the crumble mix. Bake at 375F until crumble turns golden brown. For extra crunch, set aside some of the crumble mix and pre-bake until golden brown. When that's cool break it up to make your crunchy topping.

The gooseberries were delicate but surprisingly withstood heat. They melted in your mouth when cooked but the apples helped with some texture.

Gooseberry and elderflower crumble topped with vanilla bean ice cream.

Little Gooseberries