​Black Currant Gastrique

Not a brilliant view but I thought it looked like a dark jewel in this little cut glass jar 

This is so simple. Incidentally gastrique is simply a sweet and sour sauce. I made it with black currant jam because I have a bit of a thing for black currant jam at the moment and so I have it in the pantry. And rest of the ingredients were whatever was on the pantry and freezer. Easy peasy!

Ingredients
1 cup of stock - whatever meat stock you have.
1 shallot (or garlic) minced
2-3 Tbsp verjuice or white wine vinegar (adjust to taste)
1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-4 Tbsp thick black currant jam
1 Tbsp of quince jelly - if you have any
A knob of butter
1 tsp cornflour *to thicken if necessary

Method
Add minced shallot/garlic to stock and reduce. Splash in verjuice/vinegar and add the jam.
Cook down until consistency is to your liking.
Tweak the ingredients to taste and thicken if a thicker sauce is desired.

Chooks note: I used the dense ‘stock’/left overs from a chicken dish I had made ages ago.
The quince jelly I used was one I made back in autumn when quinces were available (see October posting for savoury quince and rosemary jelly).
You could try this with mustard and apricot jam.  For my taste, the trick is to use a 'jam' with a deep dark flavour rather than one with a light sweet note.  Be creative with this type of sauce. It’s just a matter of building the taste to suit your palate.
*You could use this as a jus with a roast or grilled meat and incorporate the delicious meat dripping. Yum!

As Julia Child would say - Bon appetite!