I love working as a correspondent for Frost Magazine and sampling and reviewing Opies Foods products is always a pleasure.

The 140 year old company is based in Kent, the garden of England, and this is no coincidence. Local fruits and vegetables have inspired many Opie products, which range from traditional, but top-quality favourites, such as cocktail cherries and various pickles, including gherkins, cornichons and onions, and even green peppercorns, to some very modern twists on bottled fruits.  They also have an organic range, and many of their fruits and vegetables are sourced in the UK.

As I stared at the jars of Peaches with Courvoisier and Black Cherries with Luxado Kirsch, which I’d been sent to review, my creative juices (and digestive juices) began to flow. But how to enjoy them best? A generous helping accompanied with ice-cream is always the easiest option – and totally delicious, but I was feeling adventurous. My kids’ expressions morphed from excited anticipation to raw dread as I picked up my ancient recipe book, and pleas of ‘we just want them with ice-cream, Mum’ and ‘step away from the oven’ made me question whether they trusted my culinary skills.

Naturally I ignored them and continued leafing through the recipes.

Clafoutis – of course – this French desert was just made for these delicious fruit preserves. So, oven warming nicely, I teetered on the kitchen stool and found some flour at the back of a top cupboard shelf, a little milk, butter, sugar (not too much, I planned to substitute with the yummy cognac- and kirsch-infused syrups from the fruits) and now I just needed some vanilla extract. I was sure I had some. On my knees I reached to the dark recesses of the corner unit and grabbed a handful of small bottles – cochineal (crikey that must be old), almond essence and, yes, vanilla extract.

I emerged, smiling, to be greeted by insolent and miserable stares, but I ploughed on. The batter was made in a jiff with the help of my blender (top tip) and I poured half into each of two buttered flan dishes. I sliced the peaches and arranged them on the batter of one,  put the black cherries on the other.  Around half an hour in the oven (190degC) and I was delighted with the results. Two very professional deserts  – the fruits looked and tasted amazing and the cognac and kirsh-infused syrup gave the clafoutis a really special taste – simply heaven. Even the kids were impressed.

If you want more recipes (from professional chefs) check out the Opies Foods website, where you can also read about their quite unique range of products. These make great gifts for anyone (including yourself, of course). The two fruit preserves I used in my clafoutis are available at Tesco.

Something else you may want to consider is putting some Opies Mixed Fruits With Prosecco into the bottom of a glass, and adding more … of course … prosecco – it makes a very impressive drink for a special occasion.

Photos provided by Splat Marketing

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk