Gooseberries – delicious , yet unappreciated fruit in the kitchen.

Summer for most of us is associated with a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables that we can eat freely. Today I will focus on gooseberries, the popularity of which, unfortunately, is decreasing, which is a pity, because these small fruits carry a lot of health benefits!

Gooseberries, or rather currants, are among the healthiest fruits. Its sweet, slightly sour taste perfectly quenches thirst on hot days. The fruit comes in two colors, green-yellow and red, and is fluffy.

In  the country that I grow up,  the past, gooseberry bushes could be found in every garden.  It is also worth mentioning that gooseberries were once considered a sign of happiness at home. Here in United States, the fruit is almost unknown.  Most of those who would try it,  would find it sour, and its thick, fluffy skin is simply unpalatable .. well, I  still remember its sweet and tart taste, when you pick them fresh and eat them right away from the bush plant. To tell you the truth, I love it. It reminds me of home.

Nutrition And Health Values

• Gooseberries are rich mainly in vitamin C, B vitamins and provitamin A. They are rich in fiber; they contain phosphorus and iron as well as malic and citric acid.
• As already mentioned, gooseberries contain a lot of B vitamins and magnesium, which has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, relieves symptoms of stress and sharpens memory.
• It is also recommended for people with poor metabolism. Just two handfuls of gooseberries eaten daily will help us get rid of constipation and improve digestive processes.
• Thanks to the pectin content, gooseberries effectively lower blood cholesterol, and the potassium present in the fruit protects our heart against atherosclerosis and other diseases.
• Also, people with weakened immunity and struggling with anemia should eat this hairy fruit more often. They are full of vitamins C and iron, which support the production of red blood cells and even improve our mood.

I hope you will change your mind after reading this post and add this fruit to your menu.

Light yoghurt cake with gooseberries and oatmeal

Ingredients:

Bottom:

• 1 cup of wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cp of cane sugar
• 1 / 2c up of butter
• 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup of gooseberries (fresh or frozen)

Crushed Oat Cake:

• 2/3 cup of wheat flour
• 1/2 cp of oatmeal flour (mixed flakes)
• 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
• 2 yolks
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

you will need:

• 10.5-inch diameter tin tart
• cling film
• oven preheated to 350 F

Preparations:

• Prepare The Crushed Oat Cake
• We sift both types of flour through a sieve into a bowl. We add baking powder. Grate the butter with powdered sugar, gradually add the yolks and yoghurt. Knead the ingredients carefully, wrap them in cling film and put them in the fridge for about 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch and use a knife to cut into narrow strips.
• Mix Cake Ingredients on The Bottom
• Wash the fruit and leave it to dry. Sift the flour into a bowl, then add all the other ingredients one by one, carefully combining them into a homogeneous mass. Butter the mold and sprinkle with oatmeal flour. Pour the dough into the mold.
• Then we spread the gooseberries evenly.
• Lay Out the Strips of Crushed Pattern Cake
• On the dough prepared in this way, we put shortbread cut into strips, creating a grid. Put the dough in an oven preheated to 350 F with hot air on for about 40 minutes.

Gooseberry and sour cherries salad

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup of smoked cheese
• 2 mini romaine lettuces (or one larger)
• approx. 100 g of various green leaves and herbs (here: mustard and edible chrysanthemum, or dandelion)
• 1/2 cup of cherries (may be pitted in advance)
• 1/2 cup of red gooseberries (ripe red gooseberries are very sweet)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 handfuls of husked sunflower seeds (may be pre-roasted)
• 1/2 lemon juice

Preparation:

• Arrange the larger lettuce leaves in deep plates.
• Put the herb leaves with the smallest lettuce leaves in a bowl, add some olive oil and mix.
• Put the herbs on plates, add gooseberries and cherries (you can remove the seeds beforehand) and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.
• Sprinkle everything with olive oil. Finally, add a few slices of good cheese (it may or may not be smoked; grilled halloumi or any other hard cheese you like is also great).

Vanilla Gooseberry cake

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Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/3 cups of wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 cup of softened butter
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of milk at room temperature
• 1/3 cup of sour cream or plain yogurt at room temperature
• 3 eggs – size L – at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups of gooseberry

Preparation:

• In the bowl of a blender, combine all dry ingredients together.
• Add butter in pieces and half a glass of milk and blend briefly.
• Add the remaining milk, eggs, and yogurt – blend briefly – until ingredients are combined.
• Pour the dough into a tin about 12 inches in size
• Put the washed gooseberries on top.
• Bake at 375 F degrees for about 30-35 minutes – until a stick is dry.
• After baking, let it cool.
• You can sprinkle the dough with powdered sugar or make the icing – mix about 1 cup of powdered sugar with a little milk and pour over the dough.

Gooseberries and crumble Sweet Buns

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup of wheat flour
• 1 cup of rye flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 3 oz of melted butter
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 oz of fresh yeast
• milk for painting the buns

Crumble:

• 3 tablespoons of wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of melted butter

Additionally:

• red gooseberry

Preparations:

• Crush the yeast in a bowl and add it cooled down
• butter, warm milk, and an egg.
• Stir, then add sugar and flour. We knead everything into a smooth dough.
• Put the cake in a bowl, cover and set aside to double in volume.
• About 60 minutes.
• After this time, place the dough on the soaked table top, knead it and roll into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick.
• With the use of 3-inch round cookie cutter (glass or cup will do as well), punch out the circles and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
• We make a recess in each circle and put gooseberries in it. Leave the buns for 30 minutes to rise.
• Keep kneading the crumble ingredients; you can maki it by hand or with the help of hand mixer.
• Paint the buns with milk and sprinkle with crumble.
• Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
• After baking, let it cool on a wire rack.

Gooseberries and  white chocolate cream Tart

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Ingredients:

Shortbread Pastry :

• 1 1/2 cups of plain flour
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of cold water

Gooseberry  Mass:

• 1 3/4 cup of gooseberries
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 glasses of water
• 1 gooseberry jelly
• 2  instant puddings ( cream or vanilla flavored)

Chocolate Cream:

• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 white chocolate
• 1 teaspoon of gelatin
• 2 tablespoons of water

Preparations:

• Chop the cold butter with flour, sugar, and baking powder. You can also mix in a food processor. Add egg and water.
• Quickly knead the dough into a ball. Flatten and chill in the refrigerator.
• After about 30 minutes, roll it out and put it on a tart with a diameter of 25 cm, without stretching. Puncture the dough and blind bake at 395 F for 15-20 minutes.
• Put the gooseberries in a pot, cover with sugar and pour a glass of water. Simmer it over low heat until it starts to fall apart. Pour in dry jelly and stir until it dissolves.
• Dissolve the puddings in the remaining water, pour them into the gooseberries and bring to a boil until a thick mass is obtained. Pour it onto the baked bottom and set aside to cool.
• Boil 1 cup of heavy cream and dissolve white chocolate in it.
• Pour in the dissolved gelatin and cool.
• Whip the remaining, cold fondant and gently stir into the cool, thick chocolate.
• Put the finished cream into a confectionery sleeve with the tip of a large star and squeeze it onto the congealed gooseberry mass.
• Set aside to complete concentration.
• Enjoy !

Baked potatoes with gooseberries

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Ingredients:

• about 2-3 lb. of new potatoes
• (optional) a few small beets (here: yellow, can be red)
• about 1 cup of gooseberries, preferably red
• 2 tablespoons of liquid honey
• a splash of extra virgin olive oil
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
• half a teaspoon of black pepper, ground in a mortar
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground in a mortar
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds, ground in a mortar
• salt, ground in a mortar

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F.
• Clean and scrub the potatoes and beets. Cut larger pieces into halves or three or four parts. Put the vegetables in a bowl.
• Add the honey, olive oil, chopped rosemary leaves, salt and spices grinded in a mortar.
• Stir thoroughly until the vegetables are covered with the oil and spices, then put them in a baking dish lined with parchment paper and put in the oven for about an hour( The baking time depends, among other things, on varieties of potatoes and beets, so it is worth checking the condition of the casserole).
• When the vegetables are ready, add the gooseberries and put them in the oven for a few minutes (approx. 5-10).
• Do not keep the gooseberries in the oven for too long – it is enough for the fruit to crack but keep its shape.
• Serve right away with a portion of well-chilled buttermilk.

Chocolate gooseberry cake

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups of wheat flour
• 3 oz of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of kefir
• 2/3 cup of fine sugar
• 2 heaped tablespoons of cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
• approx. 1 lb. of gooseberries
• powdered sugar

you will need:

10.5-inch Tart tin

Preparation :

• All ingredients should be at room temperature.
• Remove the stalks from the gooseberries.
• Grate the butter together with the sugar, then add the egg.
• Mix until the ingredients are combined. Sift the flour together with
• powder, baking soda, cardamom, and cocoa. We add it alternately with kefir to the mass.
• Line the bottom of the springform pan with baking paper, pour the dough over it, and put the gooseberries on top.
• Bake in preheated to 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, until the dough is fully cooked through.
• After denying it, take it out of the oven, remove the rim and
• let it cool down.
• Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Watercress, broad beans, and red gooseberry salad.

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Ingredients:

• a handful of watercress
• a handful of curls
• a handful of arugula
• 3-4 cherry tomatoes( red or the multicolor ones)
• a handful of gooseberries (preferably sweet, red)
• approx. 4 tablespoons of fresh  broad beans (cooked and peeled)
• extra virgin olive oil
• pepper

Preparation :

• Boil the broad beans (about 4 minutes), cool and peel them.
• In a bowl, combine the washed and dried leaves: watercress, endive, and arugula. Spread over two plates.
• Add some broad beans, chopped cherry tomatoes, and red gooseberry halves.
• Sprinkle with olive oil and season with pepper.

Almond and Gooseberry Cake

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of softened butter
• 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup of plain flour
• 4 oz of ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt

Additionally:

• 1 1/2 cup of gooseberries
• 2 oz powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons of almond flakes
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

• Grind the butter with powdered sugar until fluffy, add the eggs and mix until smooth.
• Grind the almond flakes into flour (you can use a food processor  or a coffee grinder).
• Combine the flour with baking powder, ground almonds and salt, add to the egg mass.
• Pour the dough into a greased, 8-inch  diameter round springform pan, lined with baking paper.
• Mix the gooseberry with powdered sugar and spread it on the dough.
• Put the dough in an oven preheated to 380 F degrees for about 30 minutes.
• After this time, sprinkle with almond flakes on top and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the so-called dry stick.
• Before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pudding tart with gooseberries

Ingredients:

for the cake:

• 2/3 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 2 yolks

for the pudding:

• 1/3 cup of butter
• 2 cups of milk,
• 2 tablespoons of wheat flour,
• 2 tablespoons of potato flour,
• 1 vanilla sugar,
• 3/2 tablespoons of sugar,
• 1 1/2 cup of gooseberries

Preparation:

• Pour the flour onto the pastry board, add the cold butter and chop with a knife until the consistency of groats is obtained.
• Then add powdered sugar and egg yolks, chop with a knife for a while, and then knead the dough with your hands.
• Make a ball of the dough and put it in the fridge for at least an hour. After taking it out of the refrigerator, roll the dough into a thin cake and paste it over the tart tin (12 inch).
• The form should be thinly greased with butter. Bake the dough for about 30 minutes at 375 F degrees, until golden brown.
• Pierce the dough with a fork. Additionally, they can be loaded with peas or ceramic balls.
• Pour 1/4 -1/3 cup of milk into a cup and add wheat and potato flour – mix thoroughly.
• Pour the rest of the milk into a saucepan, add sugar and vanilla sugar, butter and bring to a boil.
• Pour the milk with flour into the boiling milk and stir it quickly so that no lumps are formed.
• Then boil the pudding and cook for a while, stirring from time to time.
• Pour the warm pudding onto the cake.
• When the pudding has cooled down a little, put the washed and cleaned gooseberries on it.
• Leave the dough in the fridge for a few hours.