It’s the height of strawberry season in Chester County Pennsylvania. Plywood signs painted red in the shape of a strawberry read “turn next right”, clutter back roads. Local farms, and amateur gardeners with vegetable stands are ready for the brief rush of strawberry season. Now this is embarrassing being a foodie, but this was my first time i ever went “strawberry picking”. Every year i usually stop at the farm, and get a quart of already picked strawberries and go on my way. This year was different, this trip was not planned, it was a sporadic spur of the moment decision that I ended up loving so much, I sit here writing about it today.
The day started with my aunt and uncle coming over Saturday morning to help me with my car troubles (helps to have a mechanic in your family). Once that problem was squared away, my aunt and uncle told me they planned on going to a farm down the street to pick strawberries. They asked my parents and I to tag along. Without hesitation I spoke on behalf of my family and said “yas we would love to”. Being basic, i had to find a nice wicker basket to put the strawberries in, to please the Martha Stewart in me... The farm we went to i've been to before; they always have very delicious berries; sweet, tart, and red all the way through. As we arrived, cars were pulling in and out of the entrance. It Seemed like everyone had the same idea for there Saturday morning.
Two young girls were manning the stand “Please wash your hands and let us weight your baskets before going out in the strawberry field” they yelled out. Beautiful rows of large strawberry plants stretch along the open ground.. Ever so gently moving the leaves of the plant, hunting for the perfect plump berries. It was exciting, and yet relaxing, a perfect Saturday morning endeavor. 5 lbs of strawberries later the realization set in that i have to eat all of these perfect little berries. What to make? The hardest part to being a chef; narrowing down endless options of what to make with the perfect ingredients. Then it dawned on me, “I have 5 lbs of strawberries, I can make whatever I want! I decided to highlight the strawberry in every dessert below, because when you have perfect produce, you don't need to do much. Here are two must make desserts, to show off those beautiful in season berries!
Strawberry Granita YIELD: 7-8 servings TIME: 4 hrs.
1 pound In season strawberries, stem removed and cut in half
2 oz (55 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (118 g) water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
10 ea. med size basil leaves
Note: if strawberries are not in season, additional sugar might be necessary, taste the puree for desired sweetness.
Method:
Combined all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds, or until completely pureed and smooth. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a 9-13 inch baking dish. Preferable Pyrex or ceramic, but a metal pan will suffice. Place in the freezer, and scrape the surface, and edges of dish with a fork ever 30 mins until completely frozen and “snow like”. Store in a freezer safe container. Serve in a chilled dessert glass, garnish with basil leave.
Strawberry Tart YIELD: 1 14in tart tin TIME: 1 ½ hrs
-Gramcracher crust
6 ½ oz of graham crackers finely ground and sifted
2 ½ oz melted unsalted butter
1.85 oz sugar
Pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground Cardamom
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Using a food processor, pulse graham crackers into a fine cornmeal like consistency. Sift graham cracker to remove any uneven pieces. Place ground and sifted graham crackers back into the food processor along with melted butter, sugar, salt,and cardamom. Blend ingredients, scraping the sides periodically, until completely combined. Place mixture in a 14 inch rectangular tart tin and press mixture down with a measuring cup to form crust. Make sure the sides and bottom are even, and compact. Place tart tin on a baking dish, and bake for 12-15 mins, until lightly browned. Cool completely before before filling with pastry cream.
Pastry Cream
16 fl oz raw milk, or whole milk
4 oz sugar
1 ½ oz unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 ½ oz Cornstarch
6 oz eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, or vanilla beans, seeds only
Method:
Combined 12 oz milk with 2 oz of sugar, with butter and salt in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile combine cornstarch with remaining sugar and whisk together. Add eggs and vanilla extract, whisking till the mixture is smooth. whisking constantly, Temper the egg mixture with one-third of the hot milk. Once combined return to stove and continue to cook, stirring vigorously with a whisk until pastry cream, comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in it. Take off heat and continue to stir for one minute. Place saucepan in ice bath to cool down the pastry cream. Once pastry cream is at room temperature, pour into graham cracker crust, and level surface with a pallet knife. Refrigerate until completely cooled (there will be about 1 1/2 Cups left over). Meanwhile cut two pounds of strawberries into ¼ inch slices. Arrange strawberries on the tart like “shingles” on a roof, overlapping each-other.
- Gelatin Glaze
¼ Cup cold water
1 gelatin packet
1 cup water
1T honey
2 T lemon juice.
Method:
Pour a ¼ Cup of cold water, in a small bowl and sprinkle over 1 packet of gelatin, let bloom for 10-15 mins or until gelatin is completely absorbed. Bring to a boil 1 cup of water with honey and lemon juice. Add boiling water mixture to bloomed gelatin and stir till completely combined. Refrigerate the mixture stirring occasionally till the consistency of egg whites. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of glaze over strawberries on top of the tart until completely covered. Refrigerate the tart until the glaze has set. Cut and serve.