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Go into any supermarket at the moment or drive through local villages and strawberries are the star of the show.
As well as tasting amazing, the humble strawberry is packed with packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and they are sodium, cholesterol and fat free.
You can of course eat straight them from the box with cream and add to packed lunches, but you can also create a strawberry treat that will have your taste buds tingling.
Strawberry Smoothie
This smoothie is a great ‘on the go breakfast’ or as healthy afternoon treat that will keep you away from the chocolate.
For two large glasses, you will need:
1 ripe, sliced banana
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of blueberries
1 red apple, peeled and cored
1/2 a cup of coconut water
3/4 of a cup of organic Greek yogurt
1/2 a teaspoon of honey (optional)
4 ice cubes
Place the banana, strawberries, blueberries, apple, and ice cubes into a blender and whizz for 30 seconds. Next pour in the coconut water, yogurt, and honey, puree until smooth then enjoy.
Strawberry Crumble
Bear with us on this because we know it sounds a bit odd but it tastes great. For one family sizes crumble, you will need:
350g of clean, halved strawberries
3 sticks of rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
85g of plain flour
50g caster sugar
25g ground almonds
50g unsalted butter, chopped into small cubes
¾ of a cup of pecans and hazelnuts, chopped
Grated zest of one small orange
Ground cinnamon
To make:
Heat your oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
Cook the strawberry and rhubarb mixture over medium for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chunky mixture is syrupy and place in a pie dish.
Mix the flour, sugar and ground almonds together then add the butter and rub together until you have rough crumbs. Stir in the orange zest which will offset the taste of the strawberries and rhubarb wonderfully.
Spread the crumble topping over the fruit, then sprinkle with the copped nuts and cinnamon.
Bake for 25 mins until golden and bubbly and once cooled serve with ice cream or custard.
Strawberry Jam
There is something so special about strawberry jam, especially when it is homemade. This great, easy to make recipe tastes amazing with everything from freshly buttered toast to warm scones but be patient as it is a fiddly job.
You will need:
1kg of washed, hulled strawberries
750g of jam sugar
The juice of one lemon
A jam pain
A pasty brush
A preserving or digital thermometer
A selection of jars and lids, wax discs, cellophane circles and rubber bands
Labels
Prepare the strawberries by wiping them with damp kitchen paper so the fruit won’t absorb lots of water. To hull the fruit simply cut a cone shape into the strawberry and remove the stem. If you have any large berries, cut these in half.
Place the strawberries in a bowl and gently toss them in the sugar. Leave then uncovered at room temperature for 12 hours, this is often best done overnight and by doing this, hopefully the fruit won’t disintegrate too much and will keep its bright, beautiful colour.
Tip the strawberry mixture into a preserving pan along with your lemon juice. Set the pan over a low heat and cook really, really gently.
If any sugar stays on the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in hot water and brush it into the liquid.
When the sugar has 100% dissolved, turn the heat up so the jam starts bubbling and bring it to the boil.
Boil for around 10 mins or until the jam has reached 105C (this is why you need the preserving or digital thermometer) and then turn the heat off.
Use a spoon to skim any residue from the surface of the jam.
Leave the jam to settle for 15 mins and meanwhile, sterilise your jars.
Gently ladle the jam into the jars, filling them just below the rim. Place a wax disc on top of the jam, this prevents mildew forming, then cover with a lid or cellophane circle and elastic band.
Label the jars, adding a date, and while you can store for up to one year, but we are sure your jam will be be eaten way before that.
