Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2010 | Page 148

food

Island Life - August/September 2010

Robert Thompson
The Hambrough, Ventnor

Salad of strawberries with vanilla
shortbread, crystallized flowers and
confit lemon
Serves 4

To serve

Ingredients

Strawberry sauce
Strawberry sorbet

4 Isle of Wight organic egg yolks
225g Plain flour
160g Unsalted butter - softened
160g Castor sugar
1tsp Baking powder
Pinch of salt
1Vanilla pod
500g Strawberries
1 Handful of rose petals – no pesticides!
2 Lemons
1 Small handful of fresh mint leaves – finely
chopped
8 Sprigs of lavender – just the flower tip
with no woody stalks
Sugar syrup made from 200g sugar with
400ml water – Bring to the boil and reserve
Sugar syrup made from 100g sugar with
100ml water – Bring to the boil And reserve

148

Method

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder onto

Wash the lavender and rose petals well, pat

the egg and mix well. Lightly knead the

dry. Individually dip into the equal sugar/

dough and then chill in fridge for half an

water syrup and transfer to a baking sheet

hour.

lined with silicone paper. Dry in a very low

Once the dough has rested roll out gently

temperature oven preferably overnight or

on a lightly floured surface to about ¾ of

until the sugar has crystallized.

an inch thick. Using a medium sized round

Using a speed peeler carefully remove the

cutter, carefully stamp out the shortbreads.

skin from the lemons keeping as long as

Transfer to a baking sheet lined with silicone

possible, remove as much of the white pith

paper and rest in fridge for 30 minutes.

and then cut into long thin strips. Blanch

Once rested, bake at 160 degrees until

three separate times in boiling water for

lightly golden (usually about 12 -15 minutes)

about ten seconds which will remove bitter

Transfer to a cooling wire and sprinkle lightly

taste – you should plunge the zest into cold

with castor sugar.

water each time after blanching. Dry the

Wash and hull the strawberries and pat dry.

blanched zest and then add to the larger

Cut into quarters and transfer to a bowl

quantity of stock syrup. Bring to the boil and

together with the mint and the strained

then leave on the edge of the stove on a low

lemon zest. Toss together with a little of the

heat until the zest is tender. Allow to cool.

stock syrup used to dip the flowers.

For the shortbread, Beat the egg yolks,

Place a warm shortbread on each plate. Pile

vanilla and sugar together until they are

some of the strawberries on top and around,

creamy and thick. Slowly add the butter

finish with the strawberry sorbet, sauce and

beating constantly,

crystallized flowers.
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