Weekend Rambles

 

Weekend rambles are perhaps the second-best thing to do in August, just beaten by picking fresh fruit and vegetables! Combine the two and you very quickly end up with the key ingredients for blackberry and apple crumble and/or a delicious blackberry inspired cocktail.  Travel does not necessarily mean across time zones or borders - it could simply mean unfolding an OS Explorer map (which even has an app to download onto a mobile) os.uk/explorer  or in the USA try us.mapometer.com  and exploring an area closer to home.  The rewards are plentiful - hedgerow blackberries galore, windfallen apples and incredible views.

 

Rocksure Recipes

To folIow our foraging theme we wanted to share our favourite Blackberry and apple crumble recipe and a delicious William Chase bramble cocktail!

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

600 g 1lb 5 oz apples peeled, cored and each cut into 8 chunks
2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
2 tablespoons water or apple juice
juice of 1 lemon
2 punnets of blackberries

Topping:

175 g 6oz unsalted butter, diced
120 g 4¼oz demerara sugar
300 g 10½oz plain flour
70 g 2½oz jumbo oats

 

Method:

Put the apples, sugar, liquid and lemon juice in a pan and heat until the mixture starts to bubble and the sugar dissolves.

Turn the heat down low and cook until the apples start to get soft but not mushy. Remember, it’ll be going in the oven so you don’t need to cook them all the way through. Add the blackberries and mix in, allowing them to just warm through – you want them to keep their shape.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, 180ºC fan (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. To make the crumble topping, rub together the butter, sugar and flour with your fingers until the mixture has a breadcrumb consistency. Stir in the oats and spread over a lined baking tray. Bake for 8 minutes.

When you’re ready to serve, place the fruit in an ovenproof dish, draining off any excess liquid as you don’t want the topping to be soggy. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the fruit, making a layer at least 1cm (½ inch) deep. Heat it in the oven for 25 minutes until golden brown, bubbling and delicious.

 

GB Bramble

Ingredients:

40ml Chase GB Gin
15ml Fresh lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
15ml Chase Oak-Aged Sloe & Mulberry Gin

 

Method:

Build first 3 ingredients in a rocks glass and mix with crushed ice. Top with a little more crushed ice and drizzle Sloe Gin over ice to finish. Garnish with fresh blackberries and a ginger slice.

 

Have you tried a Rocksure Recipe? Why not send us an email at contact@rocksure.com and let us know.

Notes: Crumble Recipe extract from The Pig: Tales and Recipes From the Kitchen Garden and Beyond.
Image credit Emil Bendixen.