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!

      

Six Simple Strawberry Dishes

Inspired by this gorgeous photo of my daughter's first strawberry crop this year- I thought it was time to think about ways of using up all those luscious red summer fruits that are starting to fill the shops, roadside stalls and PYOs.

After all, it is the Chelsea Flower Show this week, Wimbledon is just around the corner and all those other milestones of an English summer are appearing on the horizon. (Even if the central heating is still on and the rain is lashing down outside!)

So, I've put together 6 recipes to make the most of a punnet of strawberries.






With strawberries, just fresh as they are with some cream is usually the best way- but to pretty them up a bit ( and make them go a bit further ) try making a tartare.

Strawberry and Basil Tartare

 Strawberries are combined here with some shredded basil, creme de cassis and a drop of olive oil to make a colourful and tasty pud.

Ingredients:

a punnet of strawberries

1/2 tsp good olive oil

2 tsp creme de cassis liqueur

3-4 basil leaves (shredded with a sharp knife or scissors)

1. Wash, trim and dice the strawberries (reserving some to garnish the finished tartares)

2. Mix the dice with the basil, olive oil and creme de cassis

3. Fill a chef's ring with a spoonful or two of the dice and press down firmly to slightly squish the strawberries

Strawberry and Basil Tartare

4. Unmould, decorate with a sliced strawberry and serve with cream.

Eton Mess Cornets

As served to the stars at the Cannes Film Festival this year (according to my latest Journal des Femmes)- traditional desserts like Tiramisu, Chocolate Mousse and even Apple Crumble are served up as finger food in little ice cream cornets and are le dernier cri!

I've chosen an Eton Mess as the quickest of the bunch- and I think it's ready for its close-up.

Ingredients:

a punnet of strawberries

3 meringue nests (crushed)

2 tsp creme de cassis liqueur

200 ml whipping cream

ice cream cornets

1. Wash, trim and dice the strawberries and mix with the creme de cassis

2. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks

3. Combine the crushed meringues, cream and strawberries

4. Pile into ice cream cornets and serve

Eton Mess Cornets

Some more strawberry ideas for you- a lemonade, an ice cream cake (which looks really special but is very easy to make), sticky strawberries and a fondue.

Chocolate and Strawberry Fondue

The quickest way to do this is using Nutella (which you melt in the microwave, stir and serve with fresh strawberries and forks for dipping) . This version however is really very sweet and a bitter chocolate sauce is much nicer. 

Melt 100g of dark chocolate together with 1 tsp of creme de cassis or kirsch, a knob of butter and 1 tsp icing sugar either for 1 minute in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Serve in pretty cups, with your strawberries and long forks.

Strawberry and Chocolate Fondue

For the next recipe I am grateful to Gillian Walkinshaw for her version which I spotted on the Guardian Witness website.

Sticky Strawberries

1 punnet of strawberries

2 drops of rose water

1 tsp runny honey

Chopped  toasted hazelnuts or pistachios

1. Wash and slice the strawberries

2. Mix them with the honey, nuts and rosewater

3. Serve with greek yoghurt or better still hazelnut yoghurt.

Sticky Strawberries

Plenty more good ideas (with or without strawberrries) on that page by the way
https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/55535616e4b03e21263ee5c4

Now- the piece de resistance! The ice cream cake. Or to give it its posh name:

Ice Cream Fraisier

You will need:

1 punnet of strawberries
1 tub of strawberry ice cream
1 madeira cake

1. Line a loose bottomed cake tin with cling film
2. Cut 2 cm thick slices of madeira cake to fit snugly around the bottom of the tin. Press down firmly

3. Halve your strawberries and arrange them cut side out in a little guard of honour around the tin.

4. Take out your ice cream and allow to soften for a few minutes before spooning into the tin and spreading out smoothly until it reaches at least to the height of the strawberries or may be a cm higher.

5. Smooth the top with a wet spoon or palette knife.
6. Place back into the freezer to firm up again. (Don;t leave it more than 10-15 minutes though- or your strawberries will freeze rock hard- belive me!)
7. When you are ready to serve, take out of the freezer, unmould from the tin, peel off the clingfilm and decorate the top with more strawberries, dusted with icing sugar.

Ice cream Fraisier

Doesn't that look smashing?

Finally, if you have a few squished strawberries left that don't look good enough to serve on their own- try this Strawberry Lemonade:

100g of strawberries

juice of 2 lemons

75 cl of cloudy lemonade or ginger beer (chilled)

mint to decorate

1. Pass the strawberries through a sieve to take out the seeds

2. Mix the pulp/juice with the lemonade and lemon juice

3. Serve in cocktail glasses with a sprig of mint or a twist of lemon for garnish.

Strawberry Lemonade

Now all we need is some sunshine and summer will officially have started!

Week 23- Pick Your Own

I have sent in an application for an allotment.

Very promptly I received a reply from the Allotment Grower's Association thanking me for my application and telling me that I was number 25 on the waiting list. They also added that number 1 on the waiting list had been there for 7 years.

I think that is Allotment Grower's Association code for 'Forget it, loser!'



So, for the next 175 years I will have to content myself  with my pots of herbs and salad leaves on the windowsill and fire escape- and my local Pick Your Own farm.

It's not so bad- we are coming into peak season for all sorts of fruit and veg- strawberries, broad beans, tomatoes, last of the asparagus, peas, tayberries, gooseberries, rocket and salad leaves, spinach, rhubarb..you name it, it's out there.

So, plastic punnet in hand, I've sought out some seasonal foraging to make this week's menu.

Starter is an onion tart with tapenade (and a herb salad), followed by poulet printanier ( spring chicken) and finished with Eton Mess.

For the tart, you need to make onion jam first. Finely slice 4 small or 2 large onions and soften in some butter and olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 glass red wine, 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/2 of salt. Boil until the liquid begins to reduce, and then cover with a lid and cook on a low heat until the onions have absorbed everything and have become a soft and spreadable mush.

Onion jam

Spread tapenade (black olive and anchovy paste) over the base of a pastry case and then spread on 2/3 of the onion jam over the top.

 (Keep the remaining third as a relish for cold meat, burgers or steak sandwiches). Pour over two beaten eggs and a good grating of cheese, decorate with a few black olives and then bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. This is a kind of version of a pissaladiere (an onion and anchovy slice from Nice- so you could make it with a pizza base rather than a pastry one if you preferred, or with a rectangle of puff pastry too).

Onion and Tapenade Tart

I served it with a salad made from stuff I grow in pots- rocket, chives and 'living leaves'.

Main course celebrates all sorts of good things about early summer- broad beans, peas, new potatoes and asparagus- all cooked in a one-pot dish with chicken.

Broad beans a-sleeping in a blankety bed!

Brown some chicken thighs and drumsticks in a little oil and place to cook through for 30-40 minutes in the oven (190 degrees). Meanwhile, shell some broad beans and cook lightly for 5 minutes in boiling water. Set some asparagus stalks to steam over the top. Toss some cooked new potatoes in the oil from the roasting chicken in a wok or deep frying pan. Add the chicken pieces to the potatoes. Deglaze the roasting tin with a glass of vermouth or white wine and a large glass of water and pour over the chicken and potatoes.Mix in 2 teaspoons of mustard and a tablespoon of creme fraiche. Add the broad beans, a handful of peas and the asparagus. Simmer until thickened a little and serve garnished with chopped chives. It needs nothing more than a slice of crusty bread with it.

Poulet Printanier

For dessert, I have made an Eton-ish Mess. My version uses ice cream rather than whipped cream.

Take two scoops of vanilla ice cream per person and mix with two crushed meringue nests. Place in a bowl and put back in the freezer until ready to serve.

Chop some strawberries and add them to the ice cream when you are ready to eat, pour over some cream or creme de cassis.

Eton-ish Mess

And for the leftovers, as I suggested, the onion jam makes a great addition to a steak sandwich or burgers. (It will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.)

Steak sandwich with onion jam

I know a lot of you grow your own veg- I'm looking forward to tasting aubergines from la Barbe, and stuffed chili peppers from Steve D- and I do envy you. Send me some pics and some recipes if you can.

Ah! If only I could!