THE PERFECT . . .

Sloe gin

The sloe is the original member of the plum family; it’s the first flower of the spring and the last fruit of the autumn. It was something that was always used years ago, but we have kind of lost it over the years. I think it’s coming back in now. We have 27,000 kilometres of hedgerow in Ireland, and sloes are really easy to find and pick. They are blue and round, like a miniature plum. The damson, which is also a member of the same family, is sweeter, and you could eat it from the tree, but a sloe is sandpaper-dry to eat. Their acidity is palatable to birds, but in order to make them palatable to humans, we need to change the acid to alkaline, either by heat, by alcohol, or by drying them. This recipe doesn’t give actual measurements, because making sloe gin is a really simple process. You get whatever bottle in which you want to make the sloe gin, you fill it one-third of the way with sugar, then bring it up to the half-way mark with sloes. Pierce the skin of each sloe with a needle or a sharp fork, so that the alcohol can quickly and fully get into the flesh of the fruit. Then top up the bottle with gin. Use a really good gin; the best you can get. Or, god forbid, some really nice poitin. It’s crucial that you shake the bottle once a day for seven days, then, after that, once a week for seven weeks. You’ll see it change colour over time to a beautiful, red Christmas colour. Some people — I think it was Biddy White Lennon told me about it — add a handful of peeled almonds halfway through the process. The best thing of all is what you’re left with after you strain the ‘drunken’ sloes out of the liqueur. The liqueur is a fantastic drink, but the drunken sloes are perfect for the stuffing for the goose or turkey, or even served in a gravy with pheasant. They will keep in the cupboard for a long time, and you can add them to scones, to ice-cream — to anything. Even to porridge, but only on Christmas morning, and only for the adults. Double-whammy recipe.

You will need:

Enough sugar to fill one-third of your chosen bottle Enough wild sloes to reach the half-way mark of your chosen bottle once the sugar has been added Best gin you can afford

Method:

Fill one-third of your chosen bottle with sugar. Pierce each wild sloe with a needle or a sharp fork and add it to the bottle, until the sloes reach the half-way mark. Fill the bottle with the gin. Shake it well, then shake it once a day for seven days, and then once a week for seven weeks. At first, the drink will be tinged pink; but it will turn a lovely deep-red colour over the weeks. After that time, strain and decant the liqueur into a fresh, clean bottle. Reserve the drunken sloes, and stone them as you would an olive. Put them in a sterilised Kilner jar with a bit of the sloe-gin liqueur. They make an amazing addition to stuffing, and a tablespoon of them will give great depth to a gravy for any game. The liqueur can be kept in the freezer, for pouring into small shot glasses. Evan Doyle is owner of The Strawberry Tree Restaurant at BrookLodge, Macreddin Village, Co Wicklow, tel: (0402) 36444, or see brooklodge.com. Slow Food Ireland’s Wild & Slow Festival concludes at BrookLodge today. For more information, see wildandslow.com. In conversation with Sarah Caden