What to wear
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday November 7, 2009
Mulberries are a colourful reminder of the changing seasons. ONE of the greatest pleasures of my childhood was climbing our mulberry tree with my brother and neighbourhood urchins to collect handfuls of fruit that would ripen seemingly overnight. Children don't seem to mind the fact that mulberries stain clothes and skin, enraging their parents. In medieval times mulberries were used as dye.Single mulberry trees do well in suburbia because they are wind-pollinated and some varieties will set fruit without pollination at all.The best trees produce sweet fruit, with enough acid for balance. You'll find the occasional flurry of punnets at your greengrocer but the most flavoursome are those you collect from a nearby tree.It pays to have the tree in the chicken compound. There are too many berries for the flying birds and us to eat, so it makes sense to let some fall for the chooks. If you don't have chickens, it might be worth inviting some of the local kids to collect the excess.Mulberries make great jam. Mash some through vanilla ice cream or serve with whipped cream. They are delicious set into a baked custard tart and are an excellent substitute for blueberries in muffin recipes.smanfredi@smh.com.autwitter.com/manfredistefanoMulberry, ginger and polenta crumbleThis dessert was developed by the head chef at Bells at Killcare, Cameron Cansdell, using mulberries collected on the property.500g mulberries, de-stemmed4 tbsp white sugar2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated60g polenta60g almond meal60g plain flour100g brown sugartsp baking powder75g butter, cut into 2cm cubesPreheat oven to 190C. In a bowl, mix mulberries with white sugar and grated ginger. Be careful not to bruise the mulberries too much. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients, mixing well. Add butter cubes and work into the mix with your fingers until a crumbly texture is achieved. Place a single tightly packed layer of mulberry mixture in each of seven gratin dishes, then sprinkle crumble mixture so it is a -cm thick and covering the mulberries. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crumble is golden. Allow to cool to warm or room temperature before serving alone or with vanilla gelato.Serves 7Mulberry, almond and nutmeg torta300g mulberries, de-stemmed150g caster sugar1 egg150g unsalted butter, softened, then cut into small squares150g almond meal150g self-raising flour1 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated1 tsp vanilla extractPreheat oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 22-cm spring-form, non-stick or silicon cake mould. Toss mulberries with a few tbsp of caster sugar in a bowl and set aside. Beat remaining sugar with egg and butter in an electric mixer until smooth. Add almond meal, flour, nutmeg and vanilla. Mix on low speed for a few minutes until thoroughly blended. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape sides of the bowl. Put half the mixture into the greased cake mould. Allow to settle and place mulberries on the batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake for one hour. Test with a skewer, which should come out clean if it is ready. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the tin before removing. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.Serves 8-10
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
