A perfect end to a summer meal, gooseberry fool is tart and sweet at the same time. Using Greek yogurt instead of cream and custard gives a great texture and lowers the calories considerably!
600g / 1lb 5oz Gooseberries (green or red)
100g / 3½oz Caster (fine) sugar
180g / 6½oz Greek style yogurt
Optional toppings (see pictures below)
Top and tail the gooseberries. Removing the stalk part is more important than the lower "tail" - the lower part tends to mush down when cooked and merges in with the gooseberries with no adverse effect on flavour or texture.
If you buy your gooseberries from a shop the chances are they will be green. That's fine but if you grow your own gooseberries, as we do, then you may have some red varieties such as Hinomaki Red. These make excellent gooseberry fool with a red, rather than a green tinge.
The toppings are added just before serving because if left too long they can begin to sink down.
We take our recipes very seriously so we compared our Gooseberry Fool with the shop bought versions. Absolutely no contest, our version was far superior! The texture was creamier, the colour more vibrant and the sweet and sour taste of a home made gooseberry fool is a perfect combination.
Place the gooseberries, sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water in a pan and simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes until the gooseberries are soft.
While the gooseberries are cooking give them a stir every couple of minutes to ensure all the gooseberries are evenly cooked.
When the gooseberries are cooked, put them in a sieve and let the juice run out for two minutes. Keep the juice in a cool area.
STEP 2Place the cooked gooseberries in a bowl and let them cool for an hour.
Add about two thirds of the gooseberry juice back to the gooseberries and discard the rest of the juice.
When the gooseberry mix is cool, fold in the Greek yogurt.
Gooseberry Fool with Strawberry Topping
Fill each of the serving dishes with the gooseberry fool, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least one hour. They can be left in the fridge overnight if you are preparing well in advance.
Just before serving, top with anything to hand. Chopped fruit, chocolate scrapings, glace cherries all look great.
Gooseberry Fool with Chocolate Topping