Strawberries
THE first records of strawberries date back to the stone age.
The start of spring always comes accompanied by strawberries and traditionally they are also the sweetest of the season - especially when made into delicious desserts.
The classic combination of strawberries with whipped cream is irresistible. But apart from being used to make jams, marmalades and cakes, they are also delicious in the pan, fried in a little butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. They can also be flambéed with vodka.
As a rule, however, they are prepared in the traditional way (with cream)l. It is only innovative chefs who come up with new recipes, such as the classic 'pan y tomate' with strawberries, drizzled with the best olive oil and a few grains of sea salt.
But whether traditional or modern, the most romantic way to enjoy these tempting fruits is in a bowl, accompanied by a sparkling glass of cava - and, of course, the company of your choice.
Whether large 'fresones' or smaller 'fresas', strawberries have a short shelf life and are very sensitive to pressure.
So avoid long journeys and long storage times, buy local and only buy as many as you can eat within two days - no more than you can keep in the fridge.
Use your nose when shopping. Ripe fruit has an intense aroma. Look for smaller, uniformly bright red ones. Juicy green sepals (tops) without yellow edges signal absolute freshness. And beware of packaged strawberries! All too often you can find mouldy or mushy berries at the bottom of the plastic tray.
When you get home, unpack them immediately and store them spread out in a shallow bowl in the least cold part of the fridge. The strawberries are washed just before use. Dip them as they are, stalk and all, in cold water in a sieve; do not expose them to the hard water jet from the tap. Then pat them dry. They are now ready to be cleaned and prepared. Remember to add sugar just before eating so that the strawberries do not lose too much juice and become unsightly.
Red aspirin
It is good to know that strawberries are also an effective remedy for all kinds of ailments. They are called red aspirin because of their anti-inflammatory properties. Strawberries contain more vitamin C than most other fruits. They also have a diuretic effect due to their high potassium content, and their fibre keeps the digestion going, making them an effective remedy for winter bloat.
Scampi with strawberries
Starter for 4 people; Four to six artichokes (alcachofas), depending on size, a little lemon juice, 6 scampi (cigalas) or prawns (gambas) per person, 12 large aromatic strawberries (fresones or fresas), nut or neutral oil (aceite de nueces, de avellanas or vegetal), butter, salt, pepper or chilli powder (cayena, beware: very hot), strawberry, raspberry or balsamic vinegar.
For the strawberry vinegar, put three finely chopped strawberries in a jam jar, add a splash of white wine and simple white vinegar (vinagre); if it is too acidic, add a little sugar. Leave to stand for two or three weeks.
Remove the stem and all the leaves from the artichokes, leaving only the base, and put them in lemon water to prevent them from discolouring.
Fry the artichoke bottoms, cut into slices, and the scampi or prawns, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper or even cayenne pepper, in oil and a knob of butter. Just before they are cooked - three to four minutes, depending on their size - add the strawberries, quartered, but only long enough for them to be warm up and release their flavour. Deglaze with a few drops of mild strawberry or raspberry vinegar or even balsamic vinegar.
If you have made your own strawberry vinegar as described above, place the contents of the jar in a blender and drizzle over the scampi or prawns. Now you can add a knob of butter or a spoonful of cream and fresh herbs such as coriander (cilantro) or wild garlic (ajo de oso), if you can find them. Serve with baguette, which will do.
Strawberry and nut tartlet
Pastry for 8 tartlets of 8 cm diameter: 125 g butter, 30 g icing sugar (azúcar glas), 1 egg yolk, 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid cream
(nata liquida), 145 g flour (harina), 30 g hazelnuts (avellanas) almonds (almendras).
Also: Flour for rolling out, pulses or pie-weights for blind baking, 25 g mixed nuts, 25 g sugar, 8 to 12 large strawberries (fresones), icing sugar for dusting, baking paper.
Cream: 100 ml of milk, 100 ml of cream, 3 egg yolks, 60 g of sugar, 20 g of corn flour (maizena), a little vanilla flavouring (vainilla).
For the pastry, cut the butter into pieces. Cream with the icing sugar. Add the egg yolks and cream. Add the flour and work quickly into the dough. Flatten, wrap in cling film and chill for an hour.
Roll out the short pastry on a floured work surface to a thickness of two to three millimetres. Cut out circles ten to twelve centimetres in diameter, place in the moulds, raise the rim and or press down. Prick the base firmly. Cover with baking paper (cut to size) and weigh down with pulses or pie-weights. Refrigerate for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pre-bake the tartelettes for 15 minutes. Remove the baking parchment and pulses or pie weights and bake the bases for a further five to ten minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
To make the cream, mix together the milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar and cornflour and heat slowly, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Stir in the vanilla and butter, cover and chill for an hour. Toast the nut mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and allow to caramelise until light. Leave the nuts to cool on the baking paper, then chop.
Slice the strawberries just before serving. Dust with icing sugar.
Spread the cream on the short pastry bases and arrange the strawberries on top. Sprinkle with nuts and dust with icing sugar.
Strawberry Tiramisu
For 4 to 6 people: a 23 cm cake tin (about 1.2 litres), 500 g of strawberries (fresas), 1/2 lemon (limón), 8 tablespoons of strawberry sauce (salsa de fresas), cinnamon (canela), 250 g of mascarpone, 180 ml of cream (nata para montar), 2 tablespoons of sugar (azúcar), 100 g of lady fingers (bizcochos).
Remove the tops from the strawberries and cut into slices. Finely grate the zest of the lemon, squeeze out the juice and pour over the fruit along with three tablespoons of the strawberry sauce. Season
with a pinch of cinnamon. Cover and chill for half an hour.
Beat the mascarpone until smooth. Add the cream, sugar and lemon zest and whisk on low speed until fluffy.
Line a glass mould with cling film so that it extends over the edge. Line with a layer of lady fingers.
Top with a third of the strawberries and their juice. Cover with a third of the cream. Continue until all the cream has been used up. Finish with the cream and the remaining strawberry sauce. Refrigerate for at least three hours.
Chocolate mousse with with strawberries
Melting chocolate in a bainmarie is not difficult in principle.
But it is rare that a larger pot for the water and a smaller one for the chocolate fit together so well that nothing spills. Don't be afraid to experiment. Ikea Spain, for example, has a few pots that do the job.
125 g bitter chocolate with 70% cocoa (chocolate negro), 1 egg (huevo), 3 tablespoons of milk (leche), 4 tablespoons of brown rum (ron negro), 1/4 l of whipped cream (nata montada, for example from President).
Whip the egg with the milk in a hot bain-marie like a sabayon. Melt the chopped chocolate and add a little rum to taste. Leave the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature.
Stir in the lightly whipped cream, pour into a bowl and chill for a couple of hours to set the chocolate mousse.
Thinly slice 400g of strawberries and marinate with sugar and lemon juice.
Using an ice-cream scoop, make balls of the mousse and arrange on plates with the strawberries.