Give it a grow: Raspberries

WHY WOULD I?

Plant now, and you’ll be enjoying the fruits of your labour by summer – raspberry canes will produce fruit from their first year, and even more the next. They prefer sun, but do well in shade, too. You can also try them in large (60cm diameter) containers.

WHEN DO I PLANT THEM?

Any time from November to March for summer fruiting raspberries, if there’s no frost and the soil isn’t waterlogged. Plant each cane 60cm apart, about 8cm deep. In a container, plant a few cm from the side, equally spaced, and ensure they’re kept well watered. 

HOW DO I KEEP THEM ALIVE?

Make sure soil is never too dry or too waterlogged. In spring, add a layer of manure around the base of the canes and you can water them with tomato feed as they fruit. In late autumn cut every cane that has borne fruit that year to about 25cm from the ground. It’s upsetting now, but will make for a more fruitful bush next summer. 
 

More from the February issue:

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Growing: Fruit and nut trees

In December's The Simple Things, Cinead McTernan explores the world of fruit and nut trees and selects the species most suitable for a domestic garden. Here, we pick out some of our favourite fruit and nut recipes from previous issues.

Spiced pickled quince

Looks stunning in the jar and goes well with soft goats’ cheese or cold meat.

400g granulated sugar
700ml cider vinegar
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander leaves
1 bay leaf
4 quinces

1. Put sugar, vinegar, peppercorns and herbs into a large saucepan and bring slowly to the boil.

2. Peel, core and quarter the quinces; cut each quarter into three and place in the liquid. Bring back to the boil and then turn the heat down and simmer for 40 mins. The quince will soften and turn a rich pink colour.

3. Allow to cool slightly and then spoon into sterilised jars before pouring the liquor over and sealing. They’ll keep for a couple of months.

Recipe by Lia Leendertz, taken from issue 29 (November 2014 - buy back issue now)

Quick walnut tart

This is very fine if you make your own pastry, but once in a while shop-bought pastry can make the difference between making something and not.

240g sugar
180ml double cream
2 tbsp good honey
1 tsp fennel seed, ground
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
200g walnuts
500g sweet pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F. 

2 Add sugar to a pan on a moderate heat. Stir as it starts to turn to caramel, and once or twice more until all the sugar turns.

3 With the pan still on the heat, slowly pour in the cream, stirring as you do – it will form ribbons but keep going and it will become smooth. Stir in the honey, fennel, cinnamon and nuts. Leave to cool while you prepare the pastry case.

4 Butter and flour a 22-24cm tart tin.

5 On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to 5mm thick and line the tin.

6 Spike the pastry using a fork and bake for 10 mins. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and bake another 7 mins.

7 Spoon the nut mixture evenly into the tart and bake for about 30 mins in the centre of the oven. Let cool for 10 mins, before removing the side of the tin and leaving to cool on a rack.

Recipe by Mark Diacono, taken from issue 40 (October 2015 - buy back issue now)

Recipe by Lia Leendertz, photography by Kirstie Young

Gianduja liqueur

This chocolate and hazelnut liqueur is definitely worth the effort of spending a little time with the nutcracker. Gianduja is the forerunner of nutella, a chocolate and hazelnut paste created in Turin during the Napoleonic era, when a resourceful chocolatier mixed his limited supply of cacao with hazelnuts to make it stretch further. This is adapted from a recipe in Andrew Schloss’s Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits. Siphoned off into pretty little bottles, it makes wonderful Christmas presents.

450g hazelnuts
200g cacao nibs
750ml vodka (40% proof)
300ml simple syrup* (you can buy this but it’s easy to make, see below)

1 In a large, dry frying pan, toast the hazelnuts until they start to take colour, then tip them into a cloth and rub off as many of the skins as you can easily get to come off.

2 Pour the cacao nibs into the frying pan and toast briefly, until the aroma hits your nose. Tip out into a cool bowl.

3 In batches, grind hazelnuts and cacao nibs in a food processor until they are the texture of coarse sand (you could use a pestle and mortar instead, but this will obviously take some time). Tip everything into a large, sealable jar and pour on the vodka. Stir well.

4 After around ten days, strain the mixture into a sterilised and cooled jar. Use a colander lined with muslin, and when the bulk of the liquid has passed through, suspend the muslin above the jar and let it drip through for an hour or so. Don’t squeeze or press on the mixture to extract more liquid, as this will cloud the liqueur.

5 Stir in the cooled simple syrup and it is then ready to drink, or to store for up to a year.

*To make the simple syrup
1 I always use American ‘cups’ measurements for making syrup, because you need an equal volume of water and sugar and this is the most straightforward way to measure them. You will need around 1¼ cups each of sugar and water. But if you prefer, this equates to around 300ml water and about 200g sugar.
2 Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and warm through gently until the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and simmer for a minute. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

Recipe by Lia Leendertz, taken from issue 39 (September 2015 - buy back issue now)

Medlar jelly

Little accompanies rich meats and cheese as well as a good jelly. This deep amber preserve has just the right mix of sharp and sweet, with a fruity edge

1kg medlars, quartered (ideally around half bletted, half not)
juice of half–1 lemon
around 500g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod (optional)

1. Put the medlars in a large pan and pour in just enough water to cover. Add the juice of half a lemon, more if you fancy a sharper flavour. Bring to the boil, lower the temperature and simmer for an hour.

2. Leave to strain overnight through a jelly bag or muslin into a bowl.

3. Put a small plate into the fridge to chill. Measure the juice and pour it into a clean pan. For each 500ml of juice, add 375g of caster sugar.

4. Split the vanilla pod along its length and add to the liquid. Warm gently, stirring as the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to a rolling boil, then boil unstirred, for 5 mins.

5. Turn off the heat and test for the setting point by spooning a few drops onto the cold plate, leaving it for a minute then pushing it with your finger. It should wrinkle. If not, test again in 5 mins.

6. Pour the jelly into warm, sterilised jars and seal. It will keep in a cool, dark place for at least a year, often much longer. Once open, store in fridge - it should last months.

Recipe by Mark Diacono, taken from issue 41 (November 2015 - buy back issue now) 

Almond butter

If you want to make homemade almond butter, you just need almonds and a food processor. Head over to digital editor Lottie Storey's blog - Oyster & Pearl - for a very easy recipe.

December's The Simple Things is full of festive makes and bakes, wreaths of hawthorn and bay, and twinkly lights a-plenty. Buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Raspberry vinegar

From Fern Verrow: Recipes from a Biodynamic Farm by Jane Scotter and Harry Astley. 

Raspberry vinegar

Makes 6 x 250ml bottles

1kg berries
600ml cider vinegar
granulated sugar

Always use the freshest fruit you can get hold of, but remember it doesn’t matter what the fruit looks like, as you’re going to mash it up for its juice. It is important that the fruit is dry, especially if you are using strawberries and raspberries, so try not to wash it. You can also use a mixture of elderberries and wild blackberries for a foraged, more savoury vinegar.

1 Put the berries into a large ceramic or glass bowl. Add the vinegar and gently crush the fruit with a potato masher or a large fork. Cover tightly and leave in a cool room for at least 5 days, stirring once each day.

2 Line a sieve with a piece of sterilised muslin, set it over a bowl and pour the fruit and vinegar into it. Tie the corners of the muslin together and suspend the bag over the bowl for 12 hours for the juice to drip through.

3 Measure the juice and allow 450g sugar for every 500ml. Put the juice and sugar into a large stainless steel saucepan, place over a low heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Pour into sterilised bottles and seal straightaway. It should keep for at least a year. 

Read more:

From the October issue

Preserving recipes

Fruit recipes

Recipe: Raspberry fruit leather

Use this recipe as a template for all kinds of fruit leathers – it works really well with strawberries, apricots and nectarines too. Essentially, all it entails is making a thick, gloopy purée of fruit and sugar and then drying it out very slowly in the oven until you have a pliable leather as clear and vivid as a stained glass window. Remember to add the lemon juice if you are using fruit that is likely to discolour.

Makes 2 sheets
A little groundnut oil for greasing the tins
500g raspberries
500g peeled, cored and chopped cooking apples
Juice of 1 lemon
130g honey

1. Preheat the oven to 70°C/Gas 1/4. Line two baking sheets of about 24cmx30cm with foil or several layers of clingfilm; lightly oil with groundnut oil.  
2. Put the berries, apples and lemon juice into a pan. Cook gently, partially covered at first, until soft and pulpy, about 20 minutes. Rub through a sieve or mouli into a bowl. You should have about 700g smooth fruit purée. Add the honey and mix well.  
3. Divide between two baking sheets, shaking the tins and smoothing with a spatula so the purée reaches right up to the edges. Place in the oven for 6-10 hours.
4. The leather should be a little tacky but no longer sticky and should peel easily off the clingfilm or foil. Leave to cool completely then roll up the leather in greaseproof paper or cling film and store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use within two months. Alternatively, you can freeze it, well sealed, for up to a year. 

Turn to page 120 of September's The Simple things (on sale 29 August 2015) for Postcards from the Hedge, where Mark Diacono is picking peppercorns and harvesting honey.

Read more

Autumn jam recipes

More Postcards from the Hedge recipes

More from the September issue

September's The Simple Things is on sale today - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Poached pears with chocolate sauce

Are we done with New Year diet resolutions? Might be after this  -  syrupy fruit and drizzled chocolate heaven

Poached pears with chocolate sauce

125g sugar 
1 vanilla pod, split 
2 pears, ripe but firm, peeled and cored (leave stalks on) 
60g dark chocolate, broken into chunks 
1 tbsp unsalted butter 
20g almonds, coarsely chopped

1 In a medium saucepan, bring 1 litre water to a boil with the sugar and split vanilla pod. 
2 Add pears and lower the heat. Simmer for 20-25 mins until fruit is soft. 
3 In a small pan over a low heat, melt the chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth, but do not let it boil. 
4 Drain the pears and plate them. Pour over the chocolate sauce and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

This recipe is part of an intimate, easy-does-it menu for two, page 25 of February’s The Simple Things. Other recipes include Mushroom and parmesan filo pouches, Fish en papillote, Pilaf, and Kir Royale.

February's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe now.

Janis' cake in the house: Pistachio raspberry loaf

Photographer, design buff and native Vancouverite Janis Nicolay shares the recipe for her favourite loaf cake to keep in her home over the summer. Bake and enjoy.

Pistachio Raspberry Loaf - makes one 3.5 x 8 inch loaf

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons orange zest 2 eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup milk 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries 3/4 cup chopped pistachios Icing: 1 1/4 cups icing sugar, sifted 2-3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat the orange zest, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder over the butter mixture, then add the milk, and fold through. Fold in the pistachios and raspberries, making sure not to over mix. Pour mixture into tin and bake for about 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes, before turning out onto to a cooling rack. To make icing, sift icing sugar into a medium bowl. Add orange juice and stir until smooth. Pour over cooled loaf.

You can see more from Janis and her home town of Vancouver inside issue 12, and don't forget to visit her on her blog Pinecone Camp for more beautiful design, bakes, DIY and travel.