Beef Stew with Herb Dumplings and Damson Cheese: Damson Cheese

• 1 kg damsons, washed, stones left in
• sugar

Put the damsons in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour in about half their volume of water, simmer for about 20 minutes and rub through a sieve. Weigh, and return to the pan with slightly less than the same weight of sugar. Simmer for about an hour, stirring from time to time. Towards the end of the cooking be careful the purée does not catch and burn on the bottom of the pan. Remove with a flexibl