South African Country Life – September 2019

Serves6-8

Sorbet

• ½cupglucose


• ½cupcastorsugar


• 1 cupwater


• 2 tbsplooseleafforest-berrytea
  oranytypeofdried-berryteainfusion


• 1kgfreshstrawberries
  LimeRicotta


• 500mlfreshcream


• 500mlfreshmilk


• 25mlwhitespiritvinegar
  
  
  • 25mlfreshlysqueezedlemonjuice
  
  
  • zestof2 limes
  
  
  • juiceof1 lime
  
  
  • pinchoffinesalt
    Crostoli
  
  
  • 5 tbspand1 tspcakeflour
  
  
  • 1 tblspcastorsugar
  
  
  • 12gbutter,melted
  
  
  • 2 tbspand1 tspwhitewine
  
  
  • 1 tspbourbon/darkrum/whisky
    
    
    • 4 tbspicingsugar(togarnish)
    
    
    • oilforfrying
      BerrySalad
    
    
    • 1 punnetfreshblueberrieswhole,rinsed
    
    
    • 1 punnetfreshraspberrieswhole,rinsed
    
    
    • 6 largefreshstrawberrieswhole,rinsed
    
    
    • splasofextravirginoliveoiltodressthesalad
    
    
    • freshmintleaves,pickedandrinsed
    
    
    • freshbasilleaves,pickedandrinsed
      Specialisedequipment:Icecreamchurner
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

METHOD
Forthesorbet:Placetheglucose,sugarand
waterin a mediumsizedpotandbringto a boil.
Removefromtheheatandaddthetealeaves.
Coverimmediatelyandallowto infusefor
30-45minutesthenstrainthrougha finemesh
strainer.Ina barblenderorfoodprocessor,
blendthestrawberriesasfineaspossibleona
highspeed.Strainthestrawberrypuréethrough
a finemeshstrainerandcombineit withthetea
syrupusinga woodenspoon.Placemixturein
anice-creamchurnerandchurnuntilsetand
smooth.Storein a containerin thefreezeruntil
readyto serve.
Forthelimericotta:Placethecreamand
milkin a largepotandsetovera mediumheat.
Justbeforethemixturecomesto a boil,remove
fromheatandstirin thevinegarandlemon

juice.Stirgentlyfor1 minuteandthencover.

Allowto restfor 10 minutes.Meanwhile,

preparea strainerbylininga colanderwith

cheeseclothandplaceovera bowl.Pourthe

contentsintothestrainer,coverandleavein

thefridgeovernight.Thenextday,removethe

strainerfromthefridgeandscrapethestrained

ricottaintoa mixingbowl.Note:Thericotta

shouldbesmoothandhavea slightlythicker

consistencythancrèmefraîche.Addthelime

juiceandlimezestto thericottaandseason

witha pinchofsalt.Storein a containerin the

fridgeuntilreadyto serve.

Forthecrostoli:Usea finemeshstraineror

sugardusterto sifttheflourandsugartogether

intoa mixingbowl.Addthebutter,wineand

spiritofchoiceandmixwitha woodenspoon

untila softdoughhasformed.Wrapthe

doughtightlyandallowto restin thefridge

for 20 minutes.Rollthedoughoutintoa thin

sheetandcutstripsofapproximately2cmwide

x 5cmlong.Placebetweengrease-proofpaper

andstorein thefridgeuntilreadyto serve.

Toserve:Removethesorbetfromthe

freezerandallowto softenslightly.Ina fryer

ordeeppot,heattheoilto 180 ̊C andcarefully

frythecrostoliuntilgoldenandcrisp.Place

crostoliona tray,shakingoffanyexcessoil,

andimmediatelydustwiththeicingsugar.

Ina mixingbowl,combinetheingredients

fortheberrysalad.Inthebottomofa serving

bowl,placea scoopofsorbetalongside

a slightlysmallerscoopofricotta.Spoonthe

saladontopandgarnishwiththecrostoli.

WinesuggestionMaisonMCC 2012

orMaisonStrawWine 2015

Chef David Schneider takes time

out between service to connect

with the animals on the farm.

Spring Berry Salad with Homemade Lime Ricotta, Berry-tea Sorbet and Crostoli

COUNTRY CHEF ◗ DAVID SCHNEIDER