As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Traditionally, you would serve gooseberry sauce with mackerel, as well as rhubarb or blackberry sauce with mackerel, plum sauce with herrings - but you can make your own minds up about that - try stirring a little horseradish sauce into these as well to add further piquancy.
The method is the same for all fruits - I sometimes stew the fruit in a little white wine instead of the orange juice - about two tablespoons - to lift the flavour to dinner party standards - just wash the fruit and cut into small pieces if necessary.
Gooseberry Seafood Sauce
2 Cups/12 oz (350g) gooseberries - topped and tailed
Rind and juice of one orange
Sugar to taste
Simmer the gooseberries until tender - either a little water or wine with the orange rind and juice if you like.
Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't boil dry.
It should take around 20 minutes and they will look like pulp. They will have cooked down to a mushy texture.
When they are cooked, simply process until smooth in a blender, or pass through a sieve to give a coarser sauce - passing through the sieve will remove any skins.
Use whatever fruit you have to make a fruit sauce to serve with oily or white fish - apple can be very nice with a bit of horseradish stirred in.
You might need a spoonful of sugar in the tarter fruits, such as gooseberry or rhubarb, but that is a matter of personal taste.
Cook's Notes Allow the fruit to cook until it's really soft but keep an eye on the liquid levels. The juice of one orange isn't much, but the gooseberries themselves contain a large percentage of water and they will release that as they cook down. *However* if you allow them to boil, then the liquid will soon evaporate and you'll be left with a burned pan and no sauce. Put the heat on the lowest simmer you can and allow it to bubble away gently. |
You may also like these recipes
Some of the links on this site include affiliate links, providing Find-a-Seafood-Recipe a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you.
Your email address is secure and will *only* be used to send Seafood Recipe News. When you confirm your subscription, you will be taken to a page where you can access your free eCourse. Complete the form and it will arrive over the following five days.
By Liz Alderson
Traditionally, you'd serve gooseberry sauce with mackerel, but it goes well with any oily fish. The acidity of the fruit cuts through the oil (think pork and apple sauce if you're not convinced). You can use other fruit, rhubarb, blackcurrant or try plum with herrings.
Prep Time: 240 minutes
Cook time: 7 minutes
Yield: 2 whole fish
Main Ingredient: gooseberry