Strawberry Fields

Well..more small Strawberry Patch than Field-  but abundant this year nevertheless.

The season was short (pretty much finished now), but enough strawberries for jam and puds galore.

I know I posted up various strawberry ideas this time last year- so this time I have come up with some new recipes.

I'm starting with a Strawberry and Rosé Jelly, making some easy Strawberry Jam, a simple Strawberry Pavlova and finishing with a Strawberry Fool.





The idea of having leftover rosé might seem strange- but I bought some from the local supermarket and after a glass each we all developed headaches. Not a good sign. This wine wasn't a good choice for quaffing- so it's being used up for pot roasting chicken, marinading and boiling up for syrup as used in this jelly recipe.

Wash and trim 400 g of strawberries:

Strawberries prepped

Measure out 500ml of wine and add 100g of vanilla sugar.

Wine ready for boiling

Boil in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and for a further 6 minutes to reduce and boil away the alcohol.

Add 1-2  sachets of agar agar, dissolved according to the packet instructions and stir until well incorporated:

Add the agar agar

Put the strawberries in a suitable mould ( a metal loaf tin is good) and pour over the liquid:

Jelly ready for chilling

Chill overnight and then turn out onto a plate just before serving. (Hold the mould in very hot water for 30 seconds and it should turn out easily):

Strawberry and Rosé Jelly

I had 3 leftover egg whites in the freezer ( from making a Spaghetti Carbonara I think) and so defrosted them ready to whip up for an easy Pavlova.

Whisk them with 100g caster sugar, added gradually, 1 tsp cornflour, 1 tsp white wine vinegar and 1 tsp vanilla extract until they form stiff glossy peaks.

Glossy egg whites

Mark out a dinner plate sized circle on baking paper and spoon the mixture into it. Make some smaller spoonfuls too ( for 'nests' to go on top).

Spoon onto marked baking paper

Bake in a cool oven (150 degrees) until golden and firm ( about an hour). Switch off oven and allow the meringues to cool along with it.

Baked Meringues

Once cool, simply pile high with strawberries, whipped cream, a teaspoon of crème de cassis if you fancy, chopped pistachios ( if you want) , whatever you fancy.

Strawberry Pavlova

Whilst the meringues are cooking in the oven, it's just about the right amount of time to make some easy Strawberry Jam ( and to sterilize some jars in the oven at the same time too):

Sterilize jars whilst meringues cook

Wash and prepare a kilo of strawberries. Place half of them plus 200g out of a prepared kilo of jam sugar into a saucepan. Heat until the sugar begins to dissolve and then mash with a potato masher.

Mash half the strawberries over the heat

Then add the rest of the strawberries, the rest of the jam sugar and 2 tbsp of lemon juice and bring to a rolling boil.

Boil until you achieve a set

Once the jam has reached a temperature of 104 degrees ( and stays there for a while), you are ready to test for a set. Put a teaspoon of jam onto a very cold saucer and check it wrinkles when pushed, and a (clean) finger pushed through it leaves a clear trail.

It is ready for potting up in your sterilized jars:

Easy Strawberry Jam

And finally...if you didn't have leftover egg whites for the Pavlova, and instead you separated out some eggs...here is an idea of what to do with the egg yolks.

Make a custard by mixing the egg yolks with a little cornflour and 2 tbsp sugar in a glass bowl. Heat 350 ml of milk ( or coconut milk or almond milk would be delicious too) and gently pour into the egg mixture, stirring all the time.

Whisk the coconut/ almond milk into the eggs

Whip the mixture in the glass bowl over a pan of simmering water until it thickens and forms a custard.

Blitz 300g of ripe strawberries into the mix, add a little whipped cream if you want, pour into dishes and chill. Et voilà- Strawberry Fool.

Strawberry Fool

And so ends this year's strawberry ideas. If you want to look at some others- here's the link.

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.com/search/label/strawberries

Enjoy your strawberries responsibly and do keep safe!