We love Strawberries
All of a sudden there are an abundance of strawberries around. Strawberries to us are like a glimpse of Summer, their colour and taste makes us come alive! Luscious, sweet, soft and juicy...heavenly!
Even though Summer is still a few weeks away, we are grabbing the opportunity of preparing a mouth-watering dessert with these beautiful berries.
Today we are making a Rice Pudding with Strawberries stewed in Lemongrass and Lime
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 lemongrass stalks
40g slivered almonds
450g strawberries, hulled and diced
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
75g sugar
2 Tbsp water
550ml full cream milk
100g risotto rice
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
60ml unsweetened coconut milk
Remove the thicker outer layer of the lemongrass stalks. Slice one stalk into three pieces. Grind the other one with the outer layers, using a coffee or spice grinder or food processor. Toast the slivered almonds in a frying pan, until lightly browned.
Combine 280g of the strawberries, half the zest of the lime, 1 tsp of the ground lemongrass, 2 Tbsp of the sugar and the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer until the strawberries soften but still keep their shape. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice. Let the mixture cool.
Combine the milk with the 3 lemongrass pieces, the ginger and rest of the lime zest. Bring to a boil then add the rice. Lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until the rice is creamy and soft. Discard the lemongrass and ginger and mix in the rest of the sugar and the coconut milk.
Mix the cooked strawberries with the fresh ones and top the rice pudding with the strawberry compote and slivered almonds.
Serve.
In honour of Meat-Free Mondays, we are preparing this delightful recipe of Baked Ricotta, Goats Cheese and Candied Tomatoes
For the baked cheese:
425g ricotta cheese (must be drained or the baked dish will be watery)
113g goats cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram or leafy herb of your choice
Generous grindings of black pepper
Generous grindings of salt
For the candied tomatoes:
340g cherry tomatoes on the vine
1/4 cup sherry/dry white wine
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 sprigs marjoram or leafy herb of your choice
Sea salt
For the baked cheese:
Place the ricotta in a colander and leave to drain for about 30 minutes, pressing down to extract liquid. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celcius. Brush the inside of a baking dish with olive oil. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the ricotta, goats cheese and egg until smooth. Beat in the herbs (chopped if the leaves are large), a generous amount of salt and pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until puffed in the centre and browning. Let the cheese cool slightly, then invert it out onto a plate.
For the tomatoes:
While the cheese is baking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, then drop in the tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the skins on the tomatoes start to split. Pull the pan off the heat, add the sherry/white wine and return to the heat. Add the brown sugar and herbs and stir until the sugar is melted. Add a generous pinch of salt. Lower the heat and cook gently until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy coating for the tomatoes. The tomatoes will collapse and some may disintergrate, that's fine.
When ready to serve, spoon the candied tomatoes over the warm baked cheese and serve with sliced baguette or crostini.
Quote of the Day
"I don't think the question is 'Is the customer always right?' but rather, 'Do you want to make your customer happy?'"
-Chef Thomas Keller on Customer Service
