STRAWBERRIES - CRÈME FRAÎCHE PANNA COTTA, A SHRUB, FRENCH TOAST WITH RICOTTA

Three strawberry recipes for the start of summer.

Hello all!

Nice to see you and thanks for sticking around!

Have you noticed how good the strawberries are this year? The warm spring in the UK has meant that the crops this year are particularly sweet and plump. Even strawberries prepackaged in supermarkets are tasting like they have been plucked from a bush on a fruit picking farm. Strawberries are the iconic fruit of English summertime. They are the face of Wimbledon served curtsied with cream, crowned upon pavlovas and piled onto buttery scones in the summer holidays. I couldn’t miss doing an issue to showcase a few ways I like to cook with them at home.

A good starting point is to macerated them - this means to serve them is tossed in sugar and lemon. Leave them to sit for 15mins-1/2 an hour and they soften and seep a pink, fragrant syrup. They are really good like this with cream or ice cream. But I really love them with Panna cotta. Such a easy dessert to make and so good when you get the right balance of dairy to gelatine. I like to add crème fraîche to mine, it makes the overall flavour slightly tangy which is delicious.

Rather than discarding bruised or squished strawberries or those that are just slightly passed there best I make a drinking vinegar called a shrub. If you’re a fan of kombuchas then you’ll like my strawberry and fennel seed shrub. The fennel adds a slightly liquorice twang. A shrub is very much like a cordial, great for summer days on ice and topped up with plenty of fizzy water.

Plus I’ve got a guest recipe today!

Hannah Mai

shares her delicious recipe for French toast with ricotta and strawberries - such a good idea for a summer holiday brunch.

Enjoy!

Esther x

Crème fraîche pannacotta and strawberries

PREP 40 mins + OVERNIGHT CHILLING

COOK 5 mins

SERVES 5

300ml double cream

300ml full fat crème fraîche

100ml whole milk

1 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of 1 vanilla pod

3 strips of lemon zest

65g caster sugar

2 and a 1/3 leaves gelatine

400g strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp vanilla paste

You will need 5 dariole moulds or small glasses

Brush the inside of 5 dariole moulds with a little oil. Alternatively set aside 4 small glass tumblers.

Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 5 mins to soften. Tip the cream, crème fraîche, milk, vanilla, lemon zest and sugar into a pan. Stir and cook over a low heat for around 5 mins or until the cream is *scalding and the sugar has dissolved. Leave to sit for 5 mins, then remove the lemon peel.

Squeeze out the liquid from the gelatine then stir into the still hot cream mix until dissolved. Transfer to a jug then carefully pour into the moulds or glasses. Set aside on a tray and chill in the fridge, loosely covered for 6 hours or overnight.

30 mins before serving toss the strawberries in a bowl with the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.

Fill a wide mug with boiling water and dip the moulds in the water for 15-20 seconds. Turn out onto plates by tipping up and gently shaking the moulds (no need to do this when using glasses, just dig in with a spoon!). Serve with the strawberries.

GOOD TO KNOW -

What does scalding mean? - Scalding milk or cream means to bring it to a temperature just before boiling point (83C). It should feel hot and be almost steaming but not simmering. This will help infuse the flavours you have added to the dairy and impact the final flavour - in this case the lemon peel and vanilla.

The gelatine - I like my pannacotta to still have structure. This is how it should be traditionally. You dont want it hard and rubbery but it should hold its shape. If you like it a softer set then drop the extra 1/3 of a gelatine leaf. Don’t let your cream mix cool down too much before adding the gelatine otherwise it won’t dissolve and distribute into the mix.

Strawberry and fennel seed shrub

A shrub is a seasonal fruit based drinking vinegar not dissimilar to a cordial. It’s a great way to preserve summer fruit for a few weeks and makes for a really refreshing drink on summer days.

Makes a 1 litre jar

PREP TIME 30 MINS PLUS 2 DAYS STEEPING