Inspirations….
- Make this deliciously zesty syrup yourself by boiling together 1 cup Verjuice with 1 cup white sugar. Reduce by about a third and allow to cool.
- Poach pears, apples, nectarines or quinces in 1 cup verjuice, 1 cup sugar, a stick of cinnamon and a clove or star anise for an even deeper, fruitier flavoured syrup to pour over the stewed fruit.
- Swirl over vanilla ice-cream, waffles, pancakes, steamed puddings, tea cakes and even your breakfast muesli with yoghurt.
- Serve with scones and cream.
- Pour over a mound of firm mascarpone cheese and surround with dried apricots, peaches and pears to dunk into the delicious concoction of syrup and cheese.
- Serve in a small side dish with deep-fried camembert.
- Drizzle over halved poached peaches, pears or apples stuffed with blue-cheese mousse and sprinkle with toasted nuts.
- Slice a large, chilled camembert through the middle to create two layers. “Ice” the bottom layer with mascarpone and sprinkle with chopped, toasted walnuts or almonds and dried or preserved fruit. Pour over a little Verjuice syrup. Place top layer of camembert gently on top and repeat “icing”, topping it off with nuts, fruit and syrup as for bottom layer. Slice into “cake” wedges and serve with water biscuits and more preserved fruit, e.g., figs or Clementines.
- Mix with a little olive oil and brush onto roast chicken 5 minutes before the end of cooking to caramelise the skin and onto chicken portions – just before the end of grilling.
- Blend syrup with your favourite mustard. Baste onto pork fillets and chops during grilling. Add a little brown sugar to the mixture and you have a delicious glaze for the Christmas gammon.
- Blend syrup with Dijon (or other) mustard, top-up with olive oil, thin with verjuice and/or water, season with freshly ground black pepper (no salt unless you think it necessary). Delicious drizzled over salads, oven-roasted veggies, boiled potatoes, pumpkin and butternut chunks.
Advertisement
