Allyson Gofton - Aussie Red

Strawberries

These large shiny red berries are our and indeed the world’s most popular berry. Their name is likely to have originated from one of two reasons- in the past strawberries were grown on bed of straw to prevent the berries being damaged or the Tudor name for straw was ‘stray’ an expression that covered off the straggly nature of the strawberry plant of the time.

Strawberries need little adornment, hull and serve with a sprinkling of icing sugar. To add panache drizzle over a little liqueur like Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Kirsch, or for a chic culinary twist, trickle and toss with a little good balsamic vinegar.

When serving strawberries dipped in chocolate, buy them with long stems; they will be easier to prepare and look stunning.

To hull a strawberry, remove the green leaves and the soft centre stalk.

Recipe:
Strawberry And Cherry Mille-feuille
A luscious treat that looks far more time-consuming than it actually is. To serve with dexterity, use a serrated knife and use a sawing action as you cut.


Serves: 6-8


Ingredients:
400 grams block frozen puff pastry, defrosted
Milk for brushing pastry
Icing sugar for dusting
500 grams (2 punnets) strawberries
350 grams cherries, pitted
300 ml bottle cream


Method:

1. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured board into a 30 cm square. Allow to rest, then cut into 2 rectangles 15cm x 30cm.
2. Transfer to a greased oven tray, prick evenly with a fork and brush lightly with milk.
3. Bake at 220ºC for 13-15 minutes until well-risen and golden. Transfer to a cake rack to cool. Use a serrated knife to trim edges.
4. Decorate the nicest looking pastry sheet liberally with sifted icing sugar. Heat meat skewers over an open flameor on a hot plate until very hot. Drag them through the icing sugar in straight lines. The heat will slightly caramelise the sugar, leaving grill marks.
5. Place strawberries in a food processor with the pitted cherries and pulse until roughly chopped. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spread generously over the bottom pastry sheet. Spoon over most of the berry mixture, then sandwich with the icing sugar decorated pastry top. Place on a serving plate and decorate the rim of the plate with the remaining berries.

Cooks Tips:

• For best results, all pastries require resting for five minutes after being rolled out to allow the stretched gluten (flour protein) to relax. This will avoid any major shrinkage during cooking.
• If no cherries are available, use raspberries.