STRAWBERRY SENSATIONS!

The arrival of the strawberry season this month brings with it the first taste of summer sunshine, and there's nothing nicer than a big bowl of strawberries, sprinkled with sugar, topped with a large dollop of cream, or fromage frais if you are counting calories! Although imported ones have been around for quite a while now, there's nothing to beat this fruit when it's fresh and home-grown. So let's make the most of the strawberry season while it's here, and turn summer's favourite fruit into some irresistible recipes to enjoy during what should be summer's hottest month of the year.

STRAWBERRY CREAM GATEAU

This is a rich creamy dessert ideal for a special occasion or dinner party.

Serves 6.

Ingredients: 700g hulled strawberries.110g icing sugar. 2 tbsp brandy. 25g gelatine. 300ml ready made custard. 15g angelica. 300ml whipping cream. ½ tsp vanilla essence. 18 ratafias or macaroons. Method: Divide strawberries into three portions and set aside one third for decoration. Purée another third, cover and chill. Quarter remaining strawberries and mix with 50g icing sugar and brandy. Cover and set aside. Dissolve gelatine in orange juice over heat. Cool and then stir into the custard and add finely chopped angelica. Whip cream, vanilla essence and 25g sugar until thick. Fold in the sweetened strawberries and then fold fruit cream into custard. Spoon into a 1½ litre soufflé dish and chill for 2-3 hours. Dissolve remaining sugar in fruit purée over low heat and cool. Unmould cream, halve reserved strawberries and press on top, and press biscuits into sides. Serve with sweetened strawberry purée.

STRAWBERRY LIQUEUR DESSERT

This dessert doesn't take long to assemble, and the ingredients can easily be doubled, depending on the number of guests you are serving.



Serves 4.

Ingredients: 450g strawberries. 4 tsps caster sugar. 6 tbsp brandy. 110g macaroons. 3 meringue nests, crushed. 225g Greek strained yoghurt. 50g flaked almonds, toasted. Mint leaves to decorate. Method: Halve the strawberries or slice very large ones. Sprinkle with sugar to taste and cover with the brandy (or a strawberry liqueur). Leave to marinate overnight in the fridge. Place half of the marinated strawberries in the base of a glass serving dish or divide between individual serving glasses. Sprinkle the strawberries with half of the macaroons. Stir the crushed meringue into the yoghurt and spread half over the biscuits. Repeat the layers and finally sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Leave to chill in the fridge. Decorate with mint leaves and serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY SPONGE CAKE

This sponge freezes very well unfilled. It can also be served, slightly warm, as a
pudding with crème fraîche.

Ingredients and method: Whisk 4 large eggs and 170g caster sugar until thick and creamy, leaving a trail when beaters are lifted. Gently pour, a little at a time, 70ml of oil down the sides of the bowl. Fold in 110g self-raising flour sieved twice with 30g cornflour, and ¼ tsp vanilla essence. Pour into a 9 inch deep sided greased sponge tin, lined with greaseproof paper on the bottom. Sprinkle the top of cake with more caster sugar to give a lovely crisp surface. Bake in preheated oven 350F, 180C, Gas Mark 4 for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split sponge in half, fill with fresh home-made strawberry jam (recipe below), and cream if you aren't counting calories!

STRAWBERRY JAM

Many of my friends and readers find strawberry jam is hard to set. I find I have to add extra lemon juice if the setting point is taking too long, but this old recipe seems to do the trick. I also found that by leaving the jam to get nearly cold, helped the strawberries to settle more evenly in the jars.

Yield 5-6lb.

Ingredients: 1.8kg (4lb) strawberries. 1.6kg (3½ lb) preserving sugar. Juice of 4 lemons. Method: Prepare the fruit by removing stalks and hulls, wipe clean with a tissue. Put into a preserving pan and add the juice of the lemons. Simmer until the fruit is thoroughly softened. Add the sugar, warmed, and stir while boiling, about 15-20 minutes. Test on a saucer in the usual way. Allow to get nearly cold, stirring frequently. Pot into jars and seal.

When you are wondering what to cook for a light lunch or supper dish, don't forget fish. It's highly nutritious, quick to cook, and excellent value for money at this time of the year. Here are two low fat fish recipes taken from my recently published cookbook 'Another Step Into My Kitchen', which make excellent light summer meals.

SALMON STEAKS WITH YOGHURT AND WATERCRESS
SAUCE

In this recipe you can either bake or poach the salmon steaks, or cook in the microwave, but if you cook by the latter remember not to overcook, otherwise the fish will be dry and tasteless.

Serves 4.

Ingredients: 4 fairly thick salmon steaks. 1 tbsp lemon juice. Watercress to garnish. 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley. 1 tbsp chopped spring onions. For the sauce: 300g low fat cottage cheese. 25g chopped watercress leaves. 50g low fat natural yoghurt. Method: Lightly oil a large piece of foil and arrange steaks in a single layer. Sprinkle over the lemon juice, add seasoning to taste. Fold over the foil and place on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven 200C, 400F, Gas Mark 6 for approximately 20 minutes, making sure the fish is cooked. Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a blender and process until well mixed. Arrange salmon on individual plates, garnish with sprigs of watercress and serve sauce separately.

SALMON AND CRAB FISH CAKES

If you've any left over fish, then fishcakes are a good way of using it up. In this recipe I have used tinned salmon and crab but, of course, you can always use fresh salmon if you want to serve the fishcakes for a special meal or occasion.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients: 400g tin of red salmon. 110g tin of crab meat. 300g mashed potatoes. 110g butter. 4 tsps parsley, chopped. 2 small eggs, lightly beaten. Breadcrumbs. A little oil for frying. Salt and freshly ground black pepper. Method: Place the fish, potato, butter and parsley into a large bowl. Combine together and season to taste. Form into 6-8 fishcakes, dip into the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Pour two generous tbsp of olive oil into a large frying pan and, when it is smoky hot, add the fish cakes, lower the heat and cook for at least 5 minutes on each side until firm, crisp and golden.. Serve with
a green salad, tartare sauce and lemon wedges.

If you can still find some heads of elderflower, try this Elderflower Wine recipe. Delicious on a hot day with ice and a slice of lemon.

Ingredients: 20 heads of elderflower, picked when really fresh. 1.82kg (4lb) granulated sugar. 75g (2¾ oz) citrus acid. 2 lemons. 1.4litres (2 pints) water. Method: Boil the water with sugar until dissolved. Put the heads of elderflower into a large pan, pour over sugar solution, add citric acid and the sliced lemons with zest. Cover and leave between 24 and 48 hours. Strain through muslin and bottle in sterile bottles. A thick cordial, which should be diluted about 1 part to 10 parts water.

Next month: Cool food for hot days.