Nothing signals the season like a pile of foraged hedgerow finds. Dilute with sparkling wine or fizzy water, delicious either way.

Makes around 500ml

200g sloes
200g blackberries
200g elderberries
200g damsons
250g granulated sugar
Sparkling wine or sparkling water

1 Leave any foraged berries outside for an hour to give bugs the chance to escape, then soak them in cold water for a couple of minutes. Drain, transfer to a pan and add enough water to just about cover them. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 mins, or until soft.

2 Using a potato masher, crush the berries in the pan and then push the mixture through a sieve or leave to drip through a muslin into a bowl. Pour the resulting liquid into a clean pan and add the sugar.

3 Bring to an almost boil before reducing the heat and giving the occasional stir. The sugar needs to dissolve and thicken the juice, but you’re not making jam so it should only take 10 mins or so.

4 Pour the liquid into a clean, sterilised glass bottle. When ready, pour around 20ml into a glass then top up with sparkling wine or water and serve. Bartender’s note: This can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. Or, you can freeze in an ice cube tray. This recipe is adaptable – if you can’t find elderberries or sloes, then increase the amounts of the other fruits or berries.

The recipe for Hedgerow Fizz, above, is just one of the ideas from our September issue’s ‘gathering’ feature, a menu for an early autumn supper that we’ve called ‘Merry Michaelmas’. You’ll also find recipes for Rosemary Roasted Nuts, Roast Carrot & Lentil Salad, Michaelmas Roast Duck Salad with Sticky Damson Sauce and Parsnip Chips and an Apple, Pear & Ginger Cobbler with Cardamom Custard. The recipes are all by Lucy Brazier with photography by Jonathan Cherry.

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