Mulberries

By Simone Sekers

Mulberries are the great unsung fruit of August. They are not to be found in supermarkets; you need to look for them in old gardens and orchards, dropping rich and plump on the grass beneath the gnarled trees. They are the most incriminating of fruit, splashing your clothes with great purple drops, so be careful if picking involves trespass.

Watch out for wasps, and only pick those which drop willingly into your hand. This year the crop is particularly good - the hot weather has developed their sweetness to a peak of perfection. They are good raw, with a sprinkle of sugar and a good dollop of crème fraiche. If you want to keep them longer, cook briefly over a low heat until the juice runs. If you let them boil, just like blackberries they disintegrate into pith and pips, but you can make a delicious jelly in the same way, simmering the fruit with a little water, straining the liquid through a jelly bag and then adding sugar and boiling to setting point. Just now, when mulberries are at their very best, try this tart:

Work 5 ozs plain flour into 4 ozs soft unsalted butter, together with 2 tablespoons caster sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract. The dough is very soft, so you don't roll it out but use your hands to spread it out over the base of a flan tin with a loose base. Chill this for half-an-hour, then bake in a moderate oven until a pale biscuity brown - about 15-20 mins. Taking the best and fattest of your mulberries, arrange them in concentric circles on the pastry base, then sprinkle thickly with caster sugar. Return the tart to the oven and cook for another 20 minutes until the sugar has melted and the fruit has softened a little. Serve just warm, with clotted cream.

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