In Praise Of The British Strawberry

There are plenty of things to love about the British summer; sun, beaches, BBQs and cricket. But the best thing about summer is the plump, juicy, red balls of sweetness called the strawberry. Well, strawberries and cricket, but that's for another article.

Just look at it, doesn't it make your mouth water?

In this day and age strawberries are available all year round. But the problem with strawberries from polytunnles is, well, they taste like polytunnels.

This should not make your mouth water, or any other part of your body for that matter

There's nothing wrong with sitting down to a big dish full of strawberries and cream (double, whipped or clotted, none of that single cream rubbish)

But let's look at some more exciting recipes

Strawberry Mojito

Strawberries plus booze, what's not to love?

Ingredients:

Servings: 1

3 to 4 fresh strawberries, de-stemmed (hulled) and cut into small pieces

1 lime, cut into quarters

3 sprigs of mint

1 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 oz. (60 ml) white rum

Splash of club soda

Ice

Put the strawberries, lime, mint and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle.

Add the ice and rum, cover and shake well. Pour into a tall glass and top up with a dash of club soda.

Easy Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

Serves : 4

275g (10 oz) frozen sliced strawberries

115g (4 oz) sugar

175ml (6 fl oz) double cream

Combine the frozen strawberries and sugar in a food processor. Process until the fruit is roughly chopped. With the processor running, slowly pour in the cream until fully incorporated. Serve immediately, or freeze for up to one week.

Strawberry Eton Mess

Ingredients

Serves : 8

6- 8 small meringues

565ml double cream

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

9oz strawberries, sliced in half

9oz raspberries

1tsp balsamic vinegar

1tsp rose water (optional)

Whip your double cream, with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the vanilla essence, till soft peaks are formed. Be careful that it doesn't go lumpy.

In a bowl, place half the strawberries, half the raspberries, the remaining sugar and the balsamic vinegar together and mash with a fork. Place the mixture along with the whipped cream in the fridge till you want to serve.

When ready to serve, mix the mashed fruit and cream together, add the remaining strawberries, raspberries and rose water, fold mixture together

Place your meringues in a bowl and break them up. It's good if you get a mix of small and big chunks for a good texture. To serve make layers of the meringues and cream mixture into desert bowls or glasses, and serve straight away

Macerated Strawberries with Eggy Bread

Ingredients

Serves: 4

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

About 2 tbsp caster sugar

4 thick slices of slightly stale white bread, crusts removed

Butter and sunflower or groundnut oil for frying

For the macerated strawberries

1 tbsp apple balsamic, or other balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

500g strawberries, hulled and halved, bigger ones cut into 3 or 4 thick slices

First prepare the strawberries: mix together the vinegar, sugar and pepper.

Pour over the strawberries and leave to macerate for at least an hour – ideally 3–4 hours - to draw out the fruit's juices. Stir again before serving, at room temperature.

To make the eggy bread, beat the eggs together thoroughly with the milk and about 1 tbsp sugar, then pour into a shallow dish. Add the bread slices and submerge them in the egg, turning to coat them well.

Let them soak, turning occasionally, for at least 10 minutes, or up to half an hour. Ideally, the bread should absorb almost all the egg – but it never quite does!

Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little butter and another dash of oil.

Lay the eggy bread in the frying pan (cook it in 2 batches, if necessary). You can trickle any leftover egg over the bread slices while they're frying on their first side.

Fry for 2–3 minutes, until the base is golden brown, then flip over and cook for 2–3 minutes more. Transfer to warmed plates. Scatter the remaining sugar over the bread and serve, with the strawberries.