Berry time Jam with Banana Soda bread farls

A few good months ago, I came across these Scottish karaka blackberries at a grocery store and had to get them. It was madness and sheer indulgence especially as I had so many berries: raspberries, black and red currant, strawberries and gooseberries, all growing on my own plot, but when I saw these fat, long, juicy berries I just could not resist.

Would you have been able to resist them? They actually tasted rather good and with substance and texture.

We had eaten of these karaka blackberries with some fresh with whipped cream, some with waffles, some with pancakes, but I had some left over along with my own strawberries and raspberries. So I decided to preserve some of them in the form of jam. I measured out exactly 500g and made a simple 50:50 jam recipe from Darina Allen. We have pretty much finished the jar now, but I managed to take one picture before it was all gone. Here is the jar served with banana soda bread farls and whipped cream.

Banana soda bread farls
Ingredients
200g strong wholemeal flour
200g plain flour
1tsp salt
2tbs sugar
1tsp bicarb
2 ripe bananas
250ml buttermilk or natural yogurt
100ml milk (you may not need this). For two reasons, your banana might be really ripe and secondly, it depends on the consistency of the buttermilk or natural yogurt, some are thick and creamy, others are pourable consistency. So check after adding these, before adding any milk.
Method

Preheat oven gas mark 7. mix flours, salt, sugar, and bicarb in large bowl.
Peel the bananas and mash to a pulp. Add the flour with the buttermilk, yogurt and enough milk to make a firm, but not dry dough. Knead lightly until smooth, then shape into 9inch round. Cut into six wedges. Transfer to a non-stick baking sheet and sprinkle with a little flour. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until browned and crusty. Cool on a wire rack. Original recipe for Banana soda bread farls from here.