Kathryn and i had the pleasure of going up to the allotment this week to pick crops to use for our weekly 'lunch club on wheels' hot meal deliveries.
The crop of the week was definitely strawberries, picking them took us back to being children and going to the pick your own fields that used to be so popular.
We picked a bumper crop and decided to use them to make a strawberry mousse for pudding.
We had great feedback from the recipients- Roger told us it was absolutely gorgeous and Richard that there was a mouse loose around his hoose!
Here's a recipe from the BBC for a delicious fresh strawberry mouse for you to try at home
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Ingredients
3 leaves gelatine
500g/1lb 2oz ripe strawberries, halved, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 tbsp caster sugar
2 free-range eggs, whites only
200ml/7fl oz double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, or until soft.
Meanwhile, blend the strawberries, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a food processor until smooth. Remove 100g/3½oz of the purée, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve (this is to top the mousses).
Drain the gelatine and add to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the purée. Melt in the microwave or a small saucepan, but don’t let it boil.
Whisk the egg whites until they hold firm peaks. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar and whisk again, until stiff, smooth and glossy.
Whip the cream with the vanilla extract until it holds medium-firm peaks. Using a large spoon, fold the remaining strawberry purée, followed by the gelatine mixture, into the cream until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the egg whites. Spoon the mousse into glasses, then cover and chill for at least 2 hours, or until set.
To serve, spoon the reserved strawberry purée over the top of each mousse and top each mousse with a halved strawberry.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
With thanks to Bags of help for supporting our Lunch club. See www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp for more details
