Picking brambles (or blackberries) is fun but cover your arms and legs to avoid scratches and wear old clothing because the juices stain.
Rinse foraged brambles well, and this will also ensure that you spot any mouldy or under-ripe (less sweet) ones.
Brambles ripen towards the end of summer and seem designed by nature to be cooked with apples, adding colour as their juices explode i
nto the apple pulp. Apple-and-bramble crumble is an autumnal family favourite; older kids can practise peeling, and younger ones can use their fingertips to make the crumble before sprinkling it over the cooked fruit.
APPLE-AND-BRAMBLE CRUMBLE
Serves six750g cooking apples (4 large apples)
200g washed brambles
50ml apple juice
85g soft, light brown sugarFor the crumble:
150g wholemeal flour
100g cold butter, chopped into small pieces
50g rolled oats
25g mixed seeds
50g soft, light brown sugarPreheat the oven to 190¡C/gas 5.
Peel and chop the apples into even-sized pieces and put them in an ovenproof dish. Add the washed brambles, apple juice and sugar. Bake for ten minutes.
While the fruit is cooking, make the crumble. Put the flour into a bowl and add the cold butter. Use your fingertips to work the flour and butter together. Cool hands are best.
Add the oats, mixed seeds and sugar – lightly work everything together with your hands.
Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the cooked fruit and return the dish to the oven to cook for a further 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.
Serve warm with custard, yoghurt or ice-cream.
(
www.stirrinstuff.org)
The full article contains 275 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
