Sheep’s kefir with gooseberries and lemon verbena

Method

1. Mix the sheep’s milk and milk kefir grains in a 750 ml glass jar. Cover the jar with a piece of muslin (cheesecloth), secured with an elastic band, to allow the carbon dioxide to escape during fermentation. Keep in a dark place at room temperature for 24–48 hours. The timing depends on the ambient temperature – the cooler the temperature, the longer it will take. The texture should be similar to pouring cream. Once you have this consistency, strain the mixture through a sieve to catch the milk kefir grains. Store the strained drinking kefir in the refrigerator. It will last for about 1 week.
2. For the gooseberries in lemon verbena, pour the boiling water over the lemon verbena leaves and allow to steep for 5 minutes until cool (if you can only find dried lemon verbena, use 1 teaspoon as it will be stronger than fresh). Strain the tea and pour it into a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar and bring to the boil. Add the gooseberries and simmer until they are soft and a syrup has formed – the temperature should have reached 100°C on a thermometer. Add the lemon juice to taste to add a tart flavour. Allow to cool to let the syrup set.
3. Serve the gooseberries in a small bowl and serve the drinking kefir in a glass to sip with it, or pour it over the top.