Annabel's Garden - STRAWBERRIES

SUMMER STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries are very rich in vitamin C and surprisingly low in sugar. While strawberries are perfectly lovely on their own but they become extra special when served as a dessert with icing sugar or cream. They are a great accompaniment with champagne and can be used in fruit salads, flans, ice creams and liqueurs.

Strawberries are planted in April to June in the warmer central and northern regions of New Zealand and in August to September for the cooler southern regions. These heart-shaped berries don’t require a lot of room to grow but they are susceptible to the same diseases as potatoes and tomatoes and for this reason they shouldn’t be planted in the same soil as these plants. Try planting strawberries in a hanging basket; they look beautiful and the fruit are wonderfully close-to-hand.

Strawberries should be red, shiny and fragrant when you pick them. Although big strawberries look extra tempting they have a high water content and aren’t as sweet as smaller strawberries. Sadly, strawberries don’t store well. They should be eaten soon after picking unless you freeze them to use in smoothies or other desserts at a later date.

SCARLET STRAWBERRY JELLIES

Prep	15 minutes plus 3-12 hours chilling
Makes	3 cups
Serves	6

500-600g fresh ripe strawberries (2 punnets), hulled
½ cup caster sugar
4 tsp gelatine
3 tbsp cold water
1 cup apple juice, heated to a boil
⅓ cup lime juice

Place three-quarters of the hulled strawberries in a blender or food processor with the sugar. Whizz to a purée. Sprinkle gelatine over cold water in a cup and leave to absorb for 2-3 minutes.

Add the boiling apple juice and soaked gelatine mixture to puréed fruit and blitz for 30 seconds to dissolve sugar and gelatine. Pour into a 1 litre measuring jug, add the lime juice and if needed add extra apple juice to make 3 cups total volume.

Pour jelly mixture into 6 serving glasses and chill until set, about 3 hours or overnight. Slice remaining strawberries and use to garnish jellies.

STRAWBERRY SOUFFLÉS

This is a foolproof recipe with no last-minute worries – the cooked soufflés hold their shape and do not sink. They’re divine served with chilled champagne.

Prep	10 minutes
Cook	4-6 minutes
Serves	6

1 portion Strawberry Sauce
2 egg whites
¼ cup caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 punnet ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preheat oven to 220°C. Place half the Strawberry Sauce in a pan and heat, stir until boiling. Using a spotlessly clean electric beater and bowl, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Add sugar and beat until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Fold in hot berry sauce and vanilla.

Pour remaining berry sauce evenly into 6 ramekins then spoon over the meringue mixture, swirling peaks on the top. Bake for 4-6 minutes until soufflés just start to brown. (Don’t keep cooking until the soufflés rise or they will shrink too much as they cool.) Serve straight away with sliced strawberries.

Strawberry Sauce
This is really quick to prepare and it’s guaranteed to make your desserts irresistible. Purée 12-15 hulled strawberries with ½ cup good quality berry jam (eg raspberry). Add 2-3 tbsp Grand Marnier or kirsch (optional). Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Makes 1½ cups.

Variation: Apricot or Prune Soufflés
Use a dried apricot or prune purée in place of berries. Place 150g dried apricots or prunes in a pot with ½ cup white wine, ½ cup orange juice, the finely grated rind of 1 orange and 3 tbsp honey. Simmer for 10 minutes then purée.

Chocolate Strawberry Tarts

Keep a supply of cooked pastry cases on hand for all manner of impromptu desserts. Here I’ve filled them with chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries – lovely for a party dessert plate.

24 sweet pastry cases
½ portion Chocolate Ganache
1 punnet fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Fill pastry cases with chocolate ganache and top with strawberry slices.

MELT-IN-THE MOUTH SWEET PASTRY

Prep	10 minutes plus 10 minutes chilling
Cook	20-35 minutes
Makes	1kg dough, enough for 3 x 29cm tart cases or 24 x 7cm tart cases

360g butter, softened
185g sugar
1 egg
440g flour
pinch of salt

Beat butter and sugar together until creamy and fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour and salt and mix until just combined. Mixture will be soft. Using lightly floured hands, pat dough into 3 or more portions (pat between plastic wrap if desired). Use immediately or seal in plastic wrap and chill or freeze until required.

To make cooked, unfilled pastry cases, bake pastry blind. Preheat oven to 160°C fan bake. Roll dough on a lightly floured bench or between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap to 3mm thickness. Remove plastic wrap and transfer carefully to baking tins, line the bases and sides. Repair any cracks or holes with extra pastry for the perfect shells. Chill for at least 10 minutes before baking.

Cover the each pastry in tins with a piece of baking paper or a double layer of tinfoil that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Make sure it is pressed into the corners. Fill with dried beans, chickpeas, uncooked rice or special baking weights

Large pastry cases: bake for 15 minutes then remove paper and beans and bake until shell is cooked through and a pale golden colour, 15-20 minutes.

Small pastry cases: bake for 10 minutes then remove paper and beans and bake until shell is cooked through and a pale golden colour, 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the pastry or it will be too dark when cooked for the second time.

Cool the cases completely before filling. Baked pastry cases can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of days before filling, or frozen in a sealed container.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

This is an incredibly useful chocolate base. Not only is it a wonderful filling for cakes and the perfect sauce for ice cream, it also makes a superb dipping sauce for fruit and one of the best hot chocolate drinks. If you don’t want to make this amount of ganache just remember the ratio is 1 part chocolate to 1 part cream. Always make ganache at least a day before you plan to use it to give it time to set to the correct consistency.

Prep	15 minutes
Cook	5 minutes
Makes	1.5 litres

1kg best quality dark couverture (chocolate), eg Callebaut
1 litre fresh cream

an electric beater bowl. Bring cream gently to the boil in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate and mix by hand with a small whisk until almost smooth (if you turn the beater on from the start the mixture will slop everywhere). Beat on lowest speed until mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. Pour into sterilised jars and leave to cool.

When cold, cover with a lid and write date on jar. Store at room temperature for up to 1 day or chill; warm to soften when needed. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Chilled ganache can be warmed in the microwave to a runny consistency for pouring. Any unused ganache can be rechilled.

Cook’s Tip:

• For the best result use the finest quality chocolate you can afford.