June 7th Newsletter

Bardstown Road Farmers’ Market Newsletter

Sarah’s Corner

From our friend Sarah Fritschner

Strawberry season is so brief, and we wait so long for it to arrive, that it’s difficult to think about “recipes” for strawberries. Here’s my best recipe: Wash, cut off the tops, and eat.

But there’s that occasional dinner party, or a simple evening with friends, when you’d like to have something, or take something, featuring the produce of the season. In such a case, strawberries mixed with anything resembling cream—custard, vanilla ice cream, panna cotta, Charlotte—will feature the berry in its most appealing light.

In the following recipe, whipping cream gets added richness (and a firmer texture) from white chocolate. Good white chocolate will have cocoa butter in it. If “hydrogenated” fats are listed high on the ingredient list, try to find another white chocolate.

White chocolate strawberry parfait

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate morsels

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 quart strawberries, sliced and hulled

1 tablespoon sugar

4 whole strawberries

Heat ¼ cup of cream in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small pot. The minute it boils, remove from heat and add chocolate. Let it stand 30 seconds, then stir to blend the chocolate and cream. If the chocolate doesn’t stir smooth, heat it again gently. White chocolate melts at 75 or 80 degrees, so resist the temptation to blast it with a microwave or put it back on direct heat.

When the mixture is smooth, add vanilla and stir again. Scrape into a medium bowl and allow the mixture to cool.

Meanwhile, remove the hulls from the strawberries and slice them. Mix the strawberries with sugar.

Beat the remaining cream in another medium bowl until it’s fairly stiff. Fold cream into white chocolate mixture.

Divide sliced berries among 6 serving dishes. Top with about half the cream.  Chill 2 hours or more.  Serves 6. Serve the berries in tall wine glasses if you like, but then layer them berries, cream, berries, cream.