Recipe by Ballymaloe Cookery School.   This is one of those recipes that somehow is much greater than the sum of its parts. Raspberries, sugar and cream, three easy to source ingredients produce a rich and luscious result. When available and in the season I use fresh raspberries. However, this is excellently made with frozen berries and I haven’t quite decided yet if it is not actually better made with the frozen fruit. Soft fruit becomes more bitter when frozen and this seems to accentuate the flavour when the fool is made with the frozen berries. Serve shortbread biscuits or Palmiers with the fool. If you have some of the fool left over, freeze it and serve as a raspberry ice cream.     Lay the raspberries out flat on a dish. Sprinkle on the caster sugar and allow to macerate for 1 hour. If you are using frozen berries this should be long enough for them to defrost. Puree the fruit in a liquidiser or blender. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds. Gently fold in the whipped cream. If you wish to create a “swirly” effect just be a little light-handed with the folding in of the cream. The fool is now ready to be served or can be chilled for serving later.  Serve with shortbread biscuits.   Jane’s Shortbread Biscuits  Put the flour and sugar into a bowl, rub in the butter as for shortcrust pastry. Gather the mixture together and knead lightly. Roll out to 1/4 inch (7mm) thick.   Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6cm) cutter or into heart shapes.   Bake in a moderate oven 180°C/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 to pale brown, 8-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the biscuits. Remove and cool on a rack. Serve with fruit fools, compotes and ice creams.    NOTE Watch these biscuits really carefully in the oven. Because of the high sugar content, they burn easily. They should be a pale golden – darker will be more bitter. However, if they are too pale they will be undercooked and doughy. Cool on a wire rack.    Visit Our Shop

Cut the whole chicken into 10 pieces while leaving them on the bone and season well, heat a large frying pan, and brown on all sides.  Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and add in the onions and garlic, cook until lightly coloured. Add in the tagine spice and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the honey, apricots, and sultanas and cook for a further couple of minutes.  Pour in the chicken stock, tomato passata, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, season to taste.  Place chicken into a suitable ovenware dish and cover with the sauce. Cover with a lid and place into a preheated oven (180c / gas mark 4) and cook for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and finish with the roasted almonds and fresh coriander.   Visit Our Shop