Lawrence Murphy: Blowing a summer fanfare for the delicate raspberry

Plump bright cherries spray juice as they are stoned to go with an almond cake. Strawberries and gooseberries are turned into jelly for sweet and savoury dishes and peaches are poached to sit on toasted brioche with semolina.

For me, the one fruit that stands above the rest is the delicate raspberry. I prefer it to the strawberry.

Raspberries with a dusting of icing sugar or a little cream are heavenly and always put a smile on my face.

They are great with chocolate, vanilla ice cream, yoghurt and even champagne. They are a must for your fridge.

When buying make sure they are firm, bright in colour and dry as wet berries perish quickly. Eat within a couple of days.

Most raspberries consumed in this country are grown in Scotland where long summer days ripen the fruit.

When out walking I’ve found a few spots where they grow wild, but it’s easier to buy them from your local greengrocer.

You will need quite a lot for this recipe, but it’s well worth it.

Try serving with a few summer berries for a wonderful dessert.

Raspberry sorbet

Ingredients

400g raspberries

200g sugar

300ml water

Dessertspoon glucose

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer for eight minutes.

3. Liquidise the syrup and push through a fine sieve.

4. Allow to cool.

5. Churn in an ice cream machine for 20 minutes before freezing.

6. If you do not have a machine put the syrup into a tub and freeze. Whisk every 10 minutes until frozen. This method will give you a more grainy texture.

Lawrence Murphy’s restaurant is Fat Olives at Emsworth (fatolives.co.uk). Call 01243 377914.