A Disappointment Turned Dessert

There are advantages to visiting a food market just before closing time. Things need to go, and you'll get great prices--at least, that's how it goes here in the Netherlands. Recently, I scored a half pound of raspberries for just two euros: a real bargain.

Come home with my prize, I made the rather surprising discovery that the fruit was from Spain, quite unnecessary in this season. Now the excess food miles are bad enough, but the difference in taste is even sadder. Fruit that needs to travel is picked well before it's ripe and doesn't develop any sugars of its own. In short, the beautiful fruity sweetness was quite absent.

After having tasted a disappointing half dozen, I decided to make the best of things and made the following not-quite-sabayon.

- 2 shot glasses raspberry eau-de vie
- 1/4 lb raspberries
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- white caster sugar
- dash of double cream
- vanilla ice cream

In a small dish, add eau-de-vie to raspberries until covered. Cover with cling film and let sit for two hours, shaking occasionally.

Place a bowl in a pan of water just below boiling temperature. In this bain-marie, energetically whisk egg and egg yolk with caster sugar to taste until creamy. Add a dash of double cream and keep whisking for a bit more until the mixture is foamy and creamy. Strain the raspberries to separate them from the eau-the-vie and add them to the foam; let them warm for just about a minute. Place scoops of ice cream in cocktail glasses, cover them with the warm raspberry foam and serve immediately. Discard or drink the eau-de-vie.

I recommend this recipe for disappointing raspberries only. Great raspberries deserve desserts in which their flavor is not altered by booze or extra sugar. In my book, the best thing to do with those is to just have them as they are. Why try to improve upon perfection?