this blog post, too, like the one below it is an update on some of our summer weekend adventures. picture, if you will, a bucolic hike through the mountains of (slightly) upstate new york. here -- this picture should help you picture it.
this is claire and me hiking around storm king. we'd just finished a couple round-offs and back-hand springs. it was an amazing day and there were literally dozens of wild blueberries along the path for us to gobble up. after the hike, we made our way to fish kill orchard which has a number of delicious fruits for the picking. matt had called ahead to ensure blueberries were ready, but upon arriving we were told that "they're not ripe yet." being the renegades that they are, the veligdans said "balls to that!" and picked them anyway. me, being a helmick, dutifully obeyed the fish kill staff and stuck to the fully-ripened blackcurrants.
i'm glad i did, because blackcurrants are a curious fruit. this was a magical new adventure for my taste buds. these little dark blue bulbs are tart, sweet and meaty all at the same time. they start out with a flavor similar to...mushrooms? or perhaps a well cooked pork chop. then come in for a zing of tartness, followed by a mellow sweetness that is not overpowering the way some other berries can be.
i scoured the internet for recipes using fresh blackcurrants, and only came up with a couple. in the end, i went with a recipe for blackcurrant fool. "fool," i'm told by mr. webster is "a cold dessert of pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream or custard." it couldn't have been simpler.
1. boil the currants with a smidgen of water until they're juicy and broken down
2. puree them in the blender with some super fine sugar
3. let them cool, whilst you whip up some cream and a egg white
4. combine and refrigerate for a few hours
i took this blackcurrant fool over to our dear friend shengning's new apartment for a rooftop bbq. i had brought along the ingredients for s'mores, but the gang quickly discovered that the marshmallows (toasted or not) were delicious dipped in the blackcurrant fool.
everything was a smashing success. and while this isn't directly a recipe that could be used for the p-bury competition, i've started thinking up ways we could append it. wouldn't a layered blackcurrant fool and marshmallow pie be delicious? happy tiers of bright purple and pristine white would be inviting for any dessert lover.
No comments:
Post a Comment