ALLCAPS COOKBOOK PRESENTS: Strawberry Stew (Patreon)

Now, I am aware strawberries are not exactly in season here in the northern hemisphere, but in the southern hemisphere they're AMAZING this year. Bastian practically lived on them while we were visiting Oz-family. If you're on the equator's hat, save this for summer or use frozen strawberries to make sure you get enough fruit-flavor in the winter.

Combine that with his new favorite book Wombat Stew and he started begging for "strawberry stew" which is not exactly a thing? But not exactly not a thing (warning: am about to be an unbearable bougie asshole) as I remembered the Hungarian fruit soups I encountered on my trip to Budapest years ago.

So this is, allegedly, Strawberry Stew, as accepted by a very picky toddler. It's summery and cold and thick without being too heavy, somewhere between a pudding and a mousse in consistency, and lasts for ages in the fridge. I can't imagine a kid not liking this, and you could make it with any non-citrus fruit, really, just as those Hungarian soups do.

Now, I did have to cut some corners with regards to Australian ingredients--the stew in the photo was made with double cream rather than heavy cream, which is not a thing in the US, so yours will be slightly less thick, but that's perfectly all right. 

If I were an adult, I might add a bit more sour cream and drizzle some good-quality balsamic vinegar on top to give it a little more sophisticated flavor. 

Ingredients

2 quarts fresh strawberries, tops sliced off, halved, and hulled

1/2 cup water

5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 quick grind of black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sour cream

Green herbs, mint or basil, to garnish

Right-O, In They Go

Place strawberries, water, sugar, flour, zest, and pepper into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. (You can also hold back a third of the strawberries and mash them with a fork, adding them back in the next step, to give the soup more of a "chunky" vibe, but I prefer smooth.

Pour mixture into a small saucepan and bring to boil on medium heat. Let it boil for two minutes, then turn down to the lowest temperature to simmer for 10, stirring regularly to keep crystals from forming.

When this BLOOD GOOP is finished, let cool for 5-10 minutes, then pour into a bowl and chill for an hour or until it is absolutely cool to the touch. 

While this is CHILLIN like a STRAWBERRY VILLAIN, pour heavy cream into a cold bowl or stand mixer and beat until it's thickened to a proto-custard like texture. Not enough to be whipped cream, not even enough to be mousse, just thickened and aerated, about 2-3 minutes. Spoon in sour cream and give it another quick buzz to incorporate.

When berry mixture has cooled, pour in the thickened cream and gently stir to full mix without breaking the structure of the cream. Chill for at least one hour but preferably longer, overnight is great. Garnish with the greens of your choice (pea shoots would be SO GOOD in the spring!) and serve cold to RECEIVE SMILES!