Heavenly Hairy Gooseberries

As I sit, I can smell wafts of the gooseberry flapjack I have just made floating across the kitchen.  It's divine.  Even the gas meter man commented when he came to read the meter a minute ago.  I couldn't give the poor chap a slice though as it was still roasting hot, and I have made it for the arrival of my dad who comes tomorrow for a couple of weeks to fit our new bathroom and do as many other DIY jobs as I can think of.  I have to make the most of the time he is in the UK to do all the things Mr B and I are completely inept at.  So my first small token of thanks is a gooseberry flapjack. 

I've never really cooked with gooseberries before, and I rarely spot them for sale.  I suppose this is because they have a short season, and they are a fruit you really need to cook to take the tartness away.  I saw a recipe in a Good Food magazine for a gooseberry streusel which really fired my enthusiasm, and I have tweaked (relatively heavily) the original recipe which makes the final thing more flapjacky and less crumble like.

Gooseberry and Pecan Flapjack

150g porridge oats

150g plain flour

100g pecans

250g butter

150g muscovado sugar

400g gooseberries

Prep. 15 mins  Cook. 50min - 1 hour

1) Line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment leaving a good height on the edges and pre-heat the oven to 170C

2) Put the pecans in a blender and whizz them until ground.

3) Rub together the oats, flour, pecans, sugar and butter.  You will end up with quite a sticky doughy mix.  Press two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of the tin.  I found it was best to use my hands to do this.

4) If your gooseberries are particularly sharp, you may wish to dust them with sugar.  Cover the mixture in the tin with the gooseberries, ensuring they are evenly spread

5) Using the remaining dough cover the gooseberries.  I did this by breaking it into small chunks and dotting them all over.  Lightly press down everything in the tin.

6) Transfer to the oven and cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the top is brown.

7)  Remove from the oven and cool in the tin, then cut into slices as desired.