Damson Jam

I love foraging for berries this time of year - blackberries for pies and crumbles, sloes sooth the winter blues with Sloe Gin, and damsons for tangy damson jam!

Damsons were introduced to Britain by the Romans but goodness knows what they did with them, they're so tart that only tons of refined sugar can tame them! Fortunately I love the sharp plummy flavour of damson jam, and it's very easy to make, particularly with a good jam or sugar thermometer. Damson jam is lovely on toast or hot crumpets - for carnivores it also goes well with rich game meats.

Use whatever quantity you can forage, it's actually easier to boil up smaller quantities of jam than large, particularly if you're a beginner. Make sure they're ripe, they should be juicy and slightly yielding, not too hard but not too soft. Make sure you wash the fruits thoroughly to remove bits of grit, bugs and stray leaves!

1. Weigh the damsons, and measure out an equal weight of white sugar.
2. Clean some jam jars thoroughly either in a dishwasher on a hot cycle, or with hot soapy water and dry them in a 150C oven for 10 minutes.
3. In a pan, add the damsons plus about a cupful of water, depending on quantity, and gently stew the damsons for 5-10 minutes until they're very soft.
4. When the fruits are cooked, place a sieve over a bowl and pour the damsons into the sieve. The fruit should be soft enough to push out the stones - a fiddly process but make sure you get them all, you don't want crunch in your jam!
5. Return the fruit and liquid to the pan, pour in the sugar and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. It should be liquid at this stage so add a splash more water if there's not enough for the sugar to dissolve.
6. Turn up the heat and boil til the mixture reaches the "setting point" of 105C, making sure to stir occasionally so the bottom doesn't burn.
7. When it hits 105C, remove from the heat. Leave to cool slightly, then pour into your prepared jars, close the lid and leave to cool.

Variations

Plums and almonds go wonderfully together, so try Damson and Amaretto Jam! When the jam is cooling in the pan, add a tablespoon or three of Amaretto liqueur. Or for a non-alcoholic version, a teaspoon of almond extract.

Creamy mushroom pasta

I love autumn food - it's my favourite time of year in the kitchen, with mushrooms being one of my favourite things! I've been so busy over the summer I've a few recipes to catch up on, but I had this last night which is simple but a real treat.

A thick flat pasta like pappardelle or tagliatelle is best for mopping up the lovely creamy sauce, I used rigatoni as it was all I had.

Fresh mushrooms are wonderful this time of year - use the best you have available. I used some large meaty portobello mushrooms. Adding dried (or fresh, if you're lucky) porcini mushrooms makes it even more luxurious.

(serves two)

• 100 g mushrooms, sliced
• 100 g double cream
• 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 220 g pasta
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• Roughly half a glass white wine or light sherry

1. Put on the water for the pasta - by the time the water is heated and the pasta is cooked, your sauce will be ready.
2. Add oil and a knob of butter to a pan and fry the mushrooms for about five minutes until they've slightly browned, darkened and reduced.
3. Stir in the garlic for a minute or so,
4. Pour in the wine, deglazing the pan and getting up any mushroomy juices stuck to the bottom.
5. Turn down the heat and let the wine reduce for a couple of minutes.
6. Add the cream, leaving it on the hob just long enough to heat through, then stir in about half of the parsley and take off the heat.
7. When the pasta is done, strain (saving some of the cooking water), mix the pasta and sauce, adding a little cooking water if it's a little dry.
8. Serve in bowls sprinkled with fresh parsley, black pepper (or paprika) and a generous grating of parmesan. Lovely!