When you think of the British summer what comes to mind? Well aside from always carrying an umbrella and wearing a jumper? Tennis obviously and above all strawberries and cream and a pitcher of Pimms. We’ve waited until now to share our tribute to this much-loved and quintessentially British summer favourite and Caro has two mouth-watering recipes for you, so I better get hulling.
Did you know that the strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), or garden strawberry is a hybrid species and is not actually a botanical berry but is an accessory, or false fruit? This means that some of the flesh is derived, not from the ovary, but from tissue near the outside of the carpel (the seed-producing organ). In the case of a strawberry, this would be the thick part of the stem, from which the flower grows, known as the receptacle. Each so-called seed on the outside of a fruit is actually an ovary of the flower containing a seed!
Originally, people cultivated wild or woodland strawberries (Fragaria vesca) in the early 17th century, but the commercial production of strawberries rapidly gave way to the garden variety. The garden strawberry was first bred in 1750 in Brittany, France. It is a cross between Fragaria virginiana, which was indigenous to the eastern board of North America, and the Chilean plant, Fragaria chiloensis, which was imported in to the country by Amédée Francois Frézier in 1714.
The strawberry is, of course renowned for its flavour, texture, juiciness and bright red colour but the strawberry fruit was first mentioned in ancient Roman times for its medicinal use. The entire strawberry plant was used to treat depression.
The French began taking the wild strawberries from the forest to their gardens for harvest in the 1300s. Charles V, French king from 1364 to 1380, had 1,200 strawberry plants in his royal garden. In the early 1400s western European monks were depicting the wild strawberry in their illuminated manuscripts. By the 1500s references of cultivation of the strawberry became more common. People began using it for its supposed medicinal properties and botanists began naming the different species. In England the demand for regular strawberry farming had increased by the mid-1500s. Instructions for growing and harvesting strawberries showed up in writing in 1578.
Kaiserschmarrn with strawberry sauce
Kaiserschmarrn is an extremely delicious Austrian pudding, like a thick, light, buttery pancake, in this case served with strawberries.
Ingredients
For the strawberry sauce
950g/2lb 2oz strawberries, hulled and quartered
175g/6oz caster sugar
175ml/6fl oz orange juice
1 star anise, lightly toasted
1 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau
For the kaiserschmarrn
50g/2oz butter, softened to grease the pans
175g/6oz caster sugar, plus 40g/1½oz for dusting the pans
4 free-range egg yolks, at room temperature
115g/4oz fromage frais
175g/6oz crème fraîche
75ml/5 tbsp dark rum
75g/3oz plain flour
60g/2¼oz golden raisins, soaked in 4 tbsp white wine
8 free-range eggs, whites only
½ tsp cream of tartar
60g /2¼oz icing sugar, for dusting
Method
For strawberry sauce, set aside 350g/12oz of the strawberries and 60g/2¼oz of the sugar. In a heavy saucepan, combine the remaining strawberries, 125ml/4fl oz water, 115g/4oz of the sugar, the orange juice, star anise and Grand Marnier/Cointreau. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the strawberries from the heat and cover with cling film. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. Remove the star anise and pour the strawberry mixture into a blender, and blend to a fine purée.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and reserve in a pan ready to use, or refrigerate if not using right away.
Preheat the oven to 210C/425F/Gas 7. For the kaiserschmarrn, generously butter two ovenproof dishes 22cm/8½ in diameter. Dust each pan with sugar and tap out any excess. In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks with 25g/1oz of the caster sugar until mixture is light and lemony yellow.
Beat in the fromage frais and mix until well combined. Beat in the crème fraîche and rum, then beat in the flour. Stir through the raisins. In another bowl and using an electric whisk or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites on medium-low speed until they foam, then add the cream of tartar. Turn the speed up to medium and continue to beat while slowly pouring in the remaining 150g/5½oz sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Whisk half the egg whites into the crème fraiche mixture, then gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Divide the mixture equally between the two sugared pans. Bake the kaiserschmarrn in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the pans if browning unevenly and bake for another 5-minutes, until puffed and brown. The center should be set and slightly firm. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the strawberry sauce to a boil over high heat. Add the reserved 60g/2¼oz sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook the sauce over a high heat for a minute. Add the reserved 350g/12oz cut strawberries, and stir through the sauce to coat. To serve, divide the strawberry sauce among four serving plates. Using a serving spoon divide each one into two portions and spoon on top of the strawberry sauce. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.
I am also going to treat you to a summer taste sensation!
Pimms Lollies
Ingredients
300ml/½ pint Pimms
850ml/1½ pints ginger ale
handful fresh strawberries, hulled, halved
few sprigs fresh mint, leaves only
1 orange, zest only
Method
Mix the Pimms and lemonade/ginger ale together in a large jug. Place a couple of strawberry halves, a few mint leaves and a little orange zest into each lolly mould. Pour the Pimms mixture into each ice lolly mould until three-quarters full. Insert the lolly stick and lid and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until frozen solid. Alternatively, you can use large shot glasses as moulds: place the strawberry, mint and orange zest into the glass and fill with the Pimms mixture. Freeze for one hour, or until the lollies are partially frozen, then insert the lolly sticks and continue to freeze until completely frozen. To remove the lollies, dip the moulds briefly in hot water and carefully remove the lollies.
The post Happily Ever Afters – The Strawberry appeared first on Lover Of Creating Flavours.