It's the season for 'moras'

Blackberries – moras

‘Elen! Your fingers! You’ve had an accident? No?

H: No! But looking down at my purple fingers and indigo nails I see Maria’s point. “We’ve been blackberrying.”

M: When I was young, we used to go and pick them up in the forest. My mother washed them, put them in a glass bowl, sprinkled them with sugar and then some brandy.

H: Brandy? For kids?

M: Yes, of course brandy – we have no cream in those days! They were so delicious! British people make everything okay with a cup of tea, Spanish people make everything okay with a glass of brandy!

Well, that sounds like an excellent way to eat blackberries, so much better than my blackberry-and-apple crumble or bramble jelly, they seem a bit tame in comparison!

On the way home I picked a few more blackberries and had a rummage at the back of the larder for some brandy. Maria was right, blackberries, a sprinkle of sugar, a drop or three of brandy – delicious!

I used a Spanish brandy (of course) produced by Bodegas Barbadillo, aged in oak casks it has a soft, rich taste. On the label it says 'Drink straight or mix with coffee, cola or cacao.' I think the should add blackberries to their list.

(Barbadillo Brandy from Bodegas Barbadillo available from Ultracomida £19.95)