Gooseberry Meringue Pie

Fantastic weekend! Sunny and warm - so spent nearly all Saturday & Sunday out in the garden. Lots of tidying, weeding and cutting down. But also some harvesting - 4 lbs of lovely spuds from the second pot of Sante potatoes, fresh crispy Tom Thumb lettuce for lunch and gooseberries for a Gooseberry Meringue Pie for tea.

Gooseberry Meringue Pie recipe:

Basically similar to lemon meringue pie but much simpler and arguably even more yummy.
(Sorry - no photo 'cos it got eaten before I could get out the camera).

Ingredients:
1 lb gooseberries
6 oz self-raising flour
3 oz soft margarine
2 tablespoons milk
2-3 eggs
7-8 tablespoons granulated white sugar

Prepare gooseberries:
Top & tail 1 lb gooseberries with scissors, clean off any brown mildew and give them a good wash. Lightly cook them either in oven or microwave (no water needed). They should still have some shape rather than be totally mushy.
Add 3-4 tablespoons sugar (check for your taste and depends on how ripe the gooseberries are).

Make a pastry case:
6 oz self-raising flour
3 oz soft margarine
2 tablespoons approx milk
Mix soft margarine into the flour with a fork (very easy) then add milk and mix into a dough - using your hands if necessary.
Grease a 8 ins shallow pie dish.
Place the dough in the dish and press it out into the dish and making a small lip round the edge.
Cook in oven (Fan 170C) for 15 mins then remove from oven. The pastry will have puffed up in the middle so bash it back down to pie shape with the back of a spoon. Pop it back in the oven for a further 10 mins. (This method is much easier and gives better results than baking blind with beans).

Make the meringue topping:
Separate 2 large or 3 smaller eggs. Put whites in a bowl and whisk with balloon whisk or electric beater till stiff. Add 4 tablespoons sugar. Whisk again till thick and glossy.

Put it all together:
Mix the egg yolks into the cooked gooseberries and pour into the pie case.
Pile the meringue on top.
Cook in oven 150C for 30 mins till meringue is slightly golden and crisp. Sometimes the meringue goes all gooey instead of crisp (depends on what else is in oven maybe) but it's delicious anyway..

Serve warm with cream.
Enjoy!