Strawberries

Tutte le ricette di questa sezione sono frutto di esperienza, creatività e…. passaparola di Eleonora Berto, presenza quotidiana al nuovo negozio de “El Tamiso” Sotto il Salone n^28 a Padova. Gli ingredienti sono tutti da agricoltura biologica e le dosi sono indicativamente per quattro persone.

“The strawberry, which grows under the nettle, represents the most beautiful exception to the rule, since innocence and fragrance are its names. It is fairy food.” William Shakespeare

STRAWBERRY SMILE

INGREDIENTS: 300 g strawberries, 100 g rice, 100 g almond milk (or other milk), 2 glasses of water (200 g), 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, a pinch of salt, 1 lemon, vanilla, 6/7 almonds.

PROCEDURE: In a saucepan, place the rice with the almond milk and water, cook over low heat, preventing the rice from sticking to the bottom and burning. After 10 minutes, add 200 grams of strawberries cut into cubes, salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar and a piece of vanilla bean. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla and flavor with grated lemon peel. Divide the preparation into small glasses and let cool. Cut 100 grams of strawberries into slices and place them in a pan to cook with a tablespoon of sugar and lemon juice, after 10/15 minutes they will be ready. Decorate the glasses with this 'strawberry reduction' and the chopped and toasted almonds. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS: (Taken from “the art of eating well” by Pellegrino Artusi published in 1891)
“Well ripe strawberries, 300 grams. Fine white sugar, 300 grams. Water, half a liter. A big lemon from the garden. An orange.”

PROCEDURE:

“Boil the sugar in water for 10 minutes with an uncovered pot. Pass the strawberries and the orange and lemon juice through the sieve, add the syrup after passing this too, mix everything and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. This dose may be enough for eight people.”

OBSERVATIONS: revised today, this wonderful recipe, we could translate it by reducing (brown) sugar by about half and in the absence of the ice cream maker, we will pour the mixture into a container to be placed in the freezer for at least 4 hours, blending the mixture a couple of times to make this DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE SORBET creamy!!

STRAWBERRY FLUFFY

INGREDIENTS: gr. 250 strawberries, gr. 250 soft wheat or spelt flour, 150 g brown sugar, 100 g corn or sunflower oil, 3 whole eggs, 1 lemon, ½ bag baking powder, a pinch of salt.

PROCEDURE: In a bowl, mix the sugar with the eggs and oil well. Incorporate the flour and baking powder, taking care not to form lumps. Add the grated lemon peel and half of its juice. Grease a baking tray (diameter 22 cm.) and pour the mixture, leveling it. Cover with strawberries, previously cut in half and drizzled with lemon juice. Bake at 170 degrees for 30 minutes.

STRAWBERRY FRAGRANCE

INGREDIENTS: gr. 400 strawberries, 120 grams brown sugar, 150 grams cream, 2 egg whites, 1 orange or 1 lemon, the tip of a teaspoon of natural vanilla.

PROCEDURE: Whip the cream (use a container and cold fridge tools, it will be easier). Whisk the egg whites very well. Blend the strawberries with the sugar, orange juice and vanilla. Combine everything, stirring slowly and pour into a container to be placed in the freezer for at least 6 hours. Before serving the parfait, keep it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

FRESHNESS OF STRAWBERRIES AND RICOTTA CREAM

INGREDIENTS: 400 grams of strawberries, 250 grams of ricotta, 1 pack of cookies (like ladyfingers), 100 grams of brown sugar, a “puff” of cinnamon, an orange, a lemon.

PROCEDURE: Blend 200 grams of strawberries and add the squeezed lemon juice. Mix the ricotta with the sugar, cinnamon and grated orange peel very well. Cut the remaining strawberries into pieces, peel the orange removing the white part that covers it, cut into pieces and add to the strawberries. Form the first layer by dipping the cookies in the blended strawberries, distribute the ricotta cream and the pieces of strawberry and orange. Repeat the layer of wet biscuits and continue. Finish with the ricotta cream and fruit. Refrigerate at least 2/3 hours before serving.

ROTOLO CON FRAGOLE E CREMA PASTICCERA

INGREDIENTS:

Pan di spagna:
- 1 uovo intero;
- 2 albumi;
- 25 gr. farina tipo "0";
- 25 gr. farina di fecola;
- 70 gr. zucchero di canna chiaro;
- 1 limone.

Crema pasticcera:
- 250 gr. latte a vostra scelta;
- 2 tuorli;
- 60 gr. zucchero di canna;
- 25 gr. fecola;
- 10 gr. farina tipo "0"
- 500 gr. fragole.

PROCEDURE:

1. Prepara il Pan di Spagna
Inizia separando i tuorli dagli albumi in due ciotole capienti. Monta gli albumi a neve con un pizzico di zucchero finché diventano bianchi, lucidi e compatti. Metti da parte.
Nell’altra ciotola, monta i tuorli con lo zucchero fino a ottenere un composto chiaro e spumoso. Incorpora delicatamente le farine setacciate e la scorza di limone grattugiata.
A questo punto, unisci gli albumi montati con movimenti delicati dal basso verso l’alto, per non smontare l’impasto.
Stendi l’impasto su una teglia rivestita di carta forno, livella bene e cuoci in forno statico preriscaldato a 180°C per circa 30 minuti, finché non sarà dorato e soffice al tatto.

2. Prepara la Crema
Mentre il pan di Spagna cuoce, prepara una crema pasticcera vellutata. In una casseruola, sbatti le uova con lo zucchero, unendo anche i tuorli avanzati della base. Aggiungi le farine setacciate e il latte a filo, mescolando bene per evitare grumi.
Metti sul fuoco basso e cuoci mescolando continuamente, finché la crema si addensa. Appena pronta, spegni il fuoco e aggiungi la scorza di limone grattugiata per un tocco fresco e profumato.

3. Farcisci il dolce
Sforna il pan di Spagna, rimuovi la carta forno e lascialo raffreddare completamente su un piano pulito.
Nel frattempo, taglia le fragole e cuocile in una padella antiaderente con 3 cucchiai di zucchero fino a quando non diventano morbide e sciroppose. Tienine da parte 4 o 5 per la decorazione finale.
Spalma la crema pasticcera sulla base ormai fredda, quindi aggiungi sopra le fragole caramellate. Per un tocco in più, puoi aggiungere qualche fogliolina di menta fresca spezzettata.

4. Arrotola e gusta!
Con delicatezza, arrotola il dolce su sé stesso.
Sistema il rotolo su un piatto da portata, decora la superficie con ciuffi di crema usando una sac à poche e disponi sopra le fragole tenute da parte, tagliate a spicchi.
Lascia riposare in frigorifero per almeno un’oretta. Poi taglia, servi e... assapora il tuo capolavoro!