Thursday, May 22, 2008

What to do With Your Strawberries



As we wade into the strawberry sea, I've taken a quick spy around the country to see what they are doing with them here in France. Here's a list.

You could begin with a strawberry gazpacho
or a strawberry tartare,
an Amaretto seasoned strawberry blanc-manger,
strawberry and lime mousse served with yogurt and strawberry jelly,
a strawberry vacherin,
pistachio seasoned strawberries,
strawberry beignets with fresh passion fruit vinaigrette,
strawberry soup seasoned with tarragon and olive oil and served with litchi sorbet,
chocolate tartlettes with pistachio ice cream and strawberry sauce,
Gariguette strawberry rice pudding served with gelatin glazed rhubarb and raspberry sorbet,
strawberry pain perdu,
a Mara des Bois strawberry crème brûlée served with ice cream,
a goblet of whipped strawberry champagne and rose cream,
"Grand Cru" chocolate with strawberry and raspberry accompaniments,
strawberry mille-feuille with vanilla infused cream sauce,
Carros strawberry gratin with Menton lemons,
a frozen vanilla rhubarb dessert with their divine idea of crushed candied almonds,
a simple strawberry and chocolate mille-feuille,
strawberries in Muscat wine flavored gelatin served with a Breton shortbread,
simplify with strawberry shortbread,
frozen Béthune strawberry parfait with marshmallow syrup,
caramelized mille-feuille with light strawberry mousse,
strawberry charlotte,
lovage and strawbery flavored ice cream,
a strawberry gratin with honey and lavendar ice cream,
tartare of tomato and strawberries served with iced milk seasoned mint tea,
basil seasoned strawberries served with lime sorbet,
a strawberry soup with verbena ice cream,
strawberry seasoned lentil flour pastry served with strawberry lemon thyme sauce,
Sologne strawberry feuillantine,
strawberry gratin with wine and lime jelly,
strawberry champagne soup,
frozen strawberry tulips served in a coconut cloud with banana caramel,
strawberry and pistachio macaron,
strawberry succès,
wild strawberries with vanilla infused olive oil,
white chocolate croustillant with strawberries,
foie gras with Carpentras strawberry macarons,
strawberry rhubarb sablé,
pain perdu with strawberries and fromage blanc ice cream,
puff pastry with strawberries and mascarpone cheese,
frozen honey flavored nougat with a strawberry coulis,
strawberries served with a rhubarb and anise seasoned compote,
pan tossed strawberries and rhubarb,
tube of meringue and wild strawberry tartare,
variations on the theme of strawberry (cappuccino, marinated in balsamic vinegar and sorbet),
wild strawberry and lemon gratin,
strawberry and basil soufflé,
strawberry cheese cake,
hazelnut and strawberry russe,
strawberry and lemon cream macarons,
strawberry profiteroles with pistachio ice cream,
mint glazed strawberry soup,
strawberry soufflé,
strawberry tiramisu,
strawberry in puffed pastry drizzled with a fruit colis,
a strawberry mille-feuille,
a dried strawberry crème brûlée,
crisp potatoes and smoked trout with chive and strawberry seasoned cheese,
mint and basil infused strawberry soup served with a chocolate truffle and mango ice cream,
strawberries in their jus served with a white chocolate ice cream,
melon and strawberry jello with grilled pistachios,
an exquisite rum and pineapple-vanilla milk shake with medlar berries and strawberries in honey,
pigeon breast with strawberry marmelade,
a wild strawberry mille-feuille with lemongrass seasoned strawberry sauce and soft white cheese sorbet,
strawberry tempura,
a wild strawberry thin tart cooked to order,
strawberry meringue with lavender infused sauce,
cherry and strawberry soup with ginger seasoned wine served with a fresh white cheese ice cream,
Romanoff strawberries served with vanilla ice cream,
rhubarb and strawberry crumble with a hint of refreshing lime flavor,
dark chocolate palets with basil seasoned strawberries and raspberries,
Anisette flambeed strawberries,
olive seasoned strawberry compote served with olive ice cream,
a strawberry pistachio macaron with lemongrass infused straberries and served with a scoop of pistachio ice cream,
Strawberry Melba,
flambéed meringue and strawberries,
a strawberry dacquois,
a strawberry delicacy served in a crunchy "cage" with herbal infusions,
strawberry gratin with Génépi and a vanilla sabayon,
strawberries in a sweet Jurancon wine broth,
a strawberry, tomato and passionfruit tartare with raspberry sorbet,
pan tossed strawberries served with cool mint, bergemot, and Mara des Bois sorbet,
cube of pear enrobed in mango and strawberries, strawberry and red wine soup,
a Plougastel strawberry and spiced wine gratin,
strawberry harlequin,
a cascade of strawberries with rose ice cream,
strawberry and coconut spring rolls with chocolate sauce,
Mara des Bois strawberry tart with a wedge of verbena panna cotta,
strawberry gratin with orange flower sabayon,
raspberry and rhubarb feuilleté with nougatine ice cream,
a strawberry sabayon with Vourvay wine,
strawberry soup with lemon jelly and coconut cream,
a strawberry and rhubarb tiramisu served with chestnut honey ice cream,
strawberries pan tossed in salted butter and served with a buckwheat crumble with vanilla ice cream,
the crunchy honey leaf, a light thyme cream, and a strawberry soup with vanilla bean ice cream,
Gariguette strawberries with Provençal yellow peaches,
macaron cookie shells with fresh white cheese mousseline and strawberries,
strawberry and orange chaud-froid flambéed with Grand Marnier,
strawberry mille-feuille with basil sauce,
liquorice flavored strawberries,
Pino Noir seasoned strawberry soup served with cinnamon ice cream,
a simple wreath of minced strawberries,
thin sliced strawberries served with mixed berry jelly,
strawberry flavored frozen meringue cream, strawberry milkshake,
thyme infused strawberries in wine,
strawberry and rhubarb marmelade with light fresh cheese cream,
strawberries in orange flower infused cane sugar syrup,
an apple and strawberry crumble,
Carpentras strawberry confiture with pistachio ice cream,
vanilla and strawberry marmalade crème brûlée,
panna cotta with strawberry sauce served with a lemon brioche,
Plougastel strawberries drizzled with black olive honey and served with a basil infused lime granité,
Strawberry vacherin with thyme lemon ice cream,
wild strawberry gratin with passionfruit,
strawberry and raspberry cappuccino with rice pudding,
or strawberry jam.

Now you can't say you don't have any ideas for what to do with your strawberries.

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24 Comments:

Blogger glamah16 said...

Brilliant ideas! I just made a chilled fruit soup, so would be curious about the strawberry gazpacho.

3:19 PM, May 22, 2008  
Blogger Here, There, Elsewhere... and more said...

Yummy, yummy (as my daughter used to say as a kid when she enjoyed whatever she was served - particularly strawberries) thanks for sharing.
I managed to link your blog (I hope you don't mind, I used one of your photos)to mine via a post :)

3:37 PM, May 22, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow that is an awesome list. I should print that out and put it on my fridge.

4:21 PM, May 22, 2008  
Blogger Tace said...

Oh la la, that's some list! I can vouch for strawberries with amaretto, heavenly, and with a dollop of yogurt, divine!

4:32 PM, May 22, 2008  
Blogger fanny said...

most inspiring writing ever
thank you Lucy!

xx fanny

6:51 PM, May 22, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

absolutely incredible :)))))
thanks !!!!!

8:24 PM, May 22, 2008  
Blogger Wendy said...

Holy, ummm.. cow. That's some list. Hope my strawberry plants are productive this year!

8:58 PM, May 22, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry to spoil the thread, but most of the combos sound silly. Yucky Yucky.
I never tire of a bowl of ripe, naked strawberries.
Alright if you twisted my arm, maybe with some bubbly or Moscato or best of all Beaume de Venise. Mmm

Doolz
Respect to your effort Lucy.

12:53 AM, May 23, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow!! what a inspiring and delicious list!

3:56 AM, May 23, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The strawberry ideas sound divine! Many years ago I made a fettuccine alfredo with strawberries...I think I put a bit of brie in it, too. It made me swoon! Now I would use aged Gouda. I've been reading your blog for a while and I love it! mmmMimsy

7:41 AM, May 23, 2008  
Blogger L Vanel said...

Many thanks for your comments!

The dishes above are a direct sampling from restaurant dessert menus all over the country of France. It is certainly fair enough to think they are 'yucky', especially if you love the taste of a fresh ripe strawberry. If you ever travel in France during strawberry season and find yourself turned off by a similar creation, a request for plain strawberries would be perfectly reasonable, of course.

8:03 AM, May 23, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What an inspiring list! Now I've just got to wait for the best of British strawberries!

5:23 PM, May 23, 2008  
Blogger christine said...

I printed this one Lucy. Fab ideas!

6:20 PM, May 23, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I worked in a restaurant with a wonderful vegetable/fruit garden. We grew DIVINE perfumed rasberrys which were lost into salads and desserts. When the chef caught me with a saucer of rasberrys and dollop o cream, I suggested it would make a great dessert maybe with some melted chocolate on the side. His reply was he wrote a menu that would grab the punters eye and their cash and sounded sexy.
I left a week later.

Doolz
Love your food and photos and LYON of course.

1:35 AM, May 24, 2008  
Blogger L Vanel said...

That's wonderful, Doolz. I hope that you cherish your memory of the restaurant with the wonderful garden and didn't burn your bridges. As I said, I love a nice fresh berry and we're eating lots of them.

From the list above, which is just random (actually it takes every use of strawberries from an alphabetical list of about 2000 restaurants), I think that the recurring strawberry and pistachio theme is worth investigating. I also like the simple French classics using strawberries - the charlotte, creme brulee, and the creams. I also like the idea of a thick creamy farmer's cheese ice cream. I had a house made ewe's cheese ice cream with strawberries at a restaurant nearby and I loved it.

7:35 AM, May 24, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too right, those French classics really accentuate the fruit's lusciousness.
I also like to halve strawberries sprinkle with sugar, then quickly caramelise the sugar under a grill. Just before serving give them a generous splash of fraises de bois eau de vie. Intoxicating.

Also big thanks for the lemon verbena ideas. I poured your syrup onto a lavender cake made with semolina and ground almonds. A nice combo.
Gee I've really hogged this thread. Apologies.
Doolz

2:26 AM, May 25, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lucy: Thanks for the list! Strawberries are just coming in here in SE Ohio and I now have many good easons to eat them everyday for the next two weeks and beyond.....VJJ

7:37 PM, May 26, 2008  
Blogger Maria Verivaki said...

you deserve to be congratulated for your patience to make up such a list! wonderful idea!

3:52 PM, May 27, 2008  
Blogger Venus ~ Vi said...

This is insane! Love the list! I want to make the Pino Noir seasoned strawberry soup served with cinnamon ice cream, then Carpentras strawberry confiture with pistachio ice cream, oh also strawberry and coconut spring rolls with chocolate sauce, and not to forget the Mara des Bois strawberry tart with a wedge of verbena panna and.......

7:15 PM, May 29, 2008  
Blogger LloJo said...

Thanks Lucy! I've been indulging in the deliciously sweet French strawberries for breakfast...but I shall peruse this list!

3:25 PM, May 30, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

there is pretty much nothing on that list that i don't want to make. i may just start at the top and work my way down.

i'm kicking myself that i didn't plant more strawberries this year. my tiny patch is NOT ENOUGH!

5:38 PM, June 02, 2008  
Blogger Nicole said...

Great list! How did you find so many? What patience. And yet you do not have my family's favorite. Fresh strawberries dipped in sour cream and then in brown sugar! So lovely!

6:05 AM, June 03, 2008  
Blogger Jann said...

The endless list! This is wonderful.........something for everyone!

11:51 PM, June 06, 2008  
Anonymous bintang said...

uhm..
yummy!
i like it so much .

11:29 AM, May 21, 2010  

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