Don't eat your greens!

Darina Allen tells us of her love for gooseberries, which began with a first taste in her grandfather's garden

My grandfather, a country merchant, was a keen gardener when I was little. He created an amazing garden in our village that stretched from behind the pub up to our house at the top of the hill; a series of little gardens, long alleyways, summer houses and a kitchen garden with boxwood beds and rose-covered arches. Dotted around the edge of the beds were currant and gooseberry bushes.

Our grandfather was our protector and we loved to meet him ambling through the gardens. He always had "sweeties" in his pocket and he'd tell us about the plants and trees, something I have to confess interested me little as a child. I've a lovely memory of him leading me by the hand into the vegetable garden, when he bent down and showed me all the plump red and yellow gooseberries under the prickly branches. I loved my first taste, so we picked lots, putting them into his hat. We proudly took them up to my mother to make gooseberry jam for her scones.

When I came to Ballymaloe years later I was astonished to see a basket of hard green gooseberries on my worktop in late May, the sort of thing we were warned against as a child – with dire warnings of tummy aches. My mentor, now my mother-in-law, Myrtle Allen, explained that they would make the best tarts, fools and compotes at this stage. It was a revelation. Some years later we learned about the magical combination of green gooseberries and elderflowers, which we have been enjoying on an annual basis ever since.

Green Gooseberry and elderflower bread and butter pudding. Serves 6-8

12 slices good quality white bread, crusts removed; 50g (2ozs) butter, preferably unsalted; 900g (2lb) green gooseberries; 450g (1lb) sugar; 3 elderflower heads, optional; 450ml (16fl oz) cream; 225ml (8fl ozs) milk; 4 large eggs, beaten lightly; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence; 170g (6ozs) sugar; 1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling on top of the pudding. To serve: Softly whipped cream

Put the gooseberries into a saucepan with the sugar and elderflowers tied in a muslin bag. Stir over a moderate heat until the fruit bursts, discard the elderflowers. Butter the bread and arrange 4 slices, buttered side down, in a single layer in the dish. Spoon one-third of the gooseberry mixture over the bread and then another layer of bread, buttered side down, followed by another third of the gooseberry mixture. Cover with the remaining bread, buttered side down. Reserve the remainder of the Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote to serve with the pudding. In a bowl, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla essence and sugar. Pour the mixture through a sieve, over the bread. Sprinkle the sugar over the top, allow to stand, covered loosely, for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Bake in a bain-marie – the water should be half way up the sides of the baking dish. Bake in the centre of the pre-heated oven for 1 hour approx, or until the top is crisp and golden. Serve warm with some softly-whipped cream and the remainder of the Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote reheated. This can even be made with frozen gooseberries in Winter.