Strawberry Gelato

I didn't really get around to making all the things I wanted to during strawberry season and now I'm in a bit of a panic, attempting to make everything I can before they're gone.

It was a bit too cold to continue my gelato escapades but what what better way to get back to it than by making some with fresh strawberries.

I looked up a lot of recipes online and they were quite different. Some called for just strawberries, sugar and cream. Some required milk and cornstarch with the fruit and sugar. So in the end I decided to adapt a recipe from a gelato cookbook my sister bought me.

Adapted from "Making Artisan Gelato" by Torrance Kopfer

Ingredients

400g (about 2 cups) halved strawberries

4 tbs sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup cream

1. In a large bowl, add the strawberries and sprinkle 4 tablespoons of sugar. Mix gently, cover and place in the refrigerator for about 5 hours.
2. Remove from the refrigerator and puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Return to the bowl, stir in the lemon juice, cover and refrigerate until needed.
3. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice and add some water to make an ice bath. Place a slightly smaller bowl in the ice bath and place a strainer over this bowl.
4. In a saucepan, add the milk and cream and cook on very low heat.
5. In a separate mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar from the 2/3 cup. Add the remaining sugar to the saucepan with the milk and cream.
6. Beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.
7. Heat the milk and cream until very warm but not boiling. When bubbles start to form at the edge, remove from the heat.
8. Slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, into the egg yolk mixture. Add about half the milk mixture in this way. Then whisk in the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return to the stove.
9. Cook on very low heat, stirring continuously with a whisk or wooden spoon, for about 7 to 10 minutes until the custard thickens. Keep stirring, do not leave the custard alone.
10. Strain the custard into the bowl over the ice bath. Mix in the strawberry puree and beat with a hand blender or electric mixer for about 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Leave the mixture over the ice bath to cool completely, stirring occasionally.
12. Then cover the mixture and allow to chill in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, about 8 hours.
13. Freeze the the mixture in your ice-cream maker, according to instructions.
14. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, transfer the mixture to a large rectangular container. Place in the freezer and after every 30 minutes, remove from freezer and beat with an electric mixer. Continue this process for about 3 hours or until the ice-cream becomes too firm to mix. Here are some instructions from David Lebovitz about how to make ice-cream by hand.
15. Allow the ice-cream to firm up in the freezer. To serve, remove the ice-cream from the freezer and allow to soften for 5 to 10 minutes. Scoop out using an ice-cream scoop dipped in hot water.

Spanish Sunday Lunch

I've been meaning to cook this Spanish lunch ever since I saw the recipe for Arroz Con Pollo on Joy the Baker. I finally got around to it today and it made for a perfect Sunday meal.

It's all very simple and quick to make. It is kind of protein-heavy and there probably should've been a salad or some veggies as well, but I didn't really have the time. I was even going to scrap the omelette but my sister said I couldn't.

Oh well. At least there was fruit in the sangria.

On the menu:

Arroz Con Pollo from Joy the Baker

The recipe calls for 3/4 cup white wine. I changed the recipe a bit and used 1/2 cup water, instead of wine, to soak the saffron and increased the chicken stock to 2 1/2 cups.

Fry the chicken with some extra garlic to get rid of any odors. This is something my mother insists upon.

Also, before starting on the arroz con pollo, I soaked the rice in water, so by the time I added it to the pan it had soaked for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Spanish Omelette:

6 eggs

1 potato, sliced and cut into small pieces

Salt and pepper

Oil

1. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan.
2. Add the potatoes and cook until they are tender.
3. In a bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and season with some salt and pepper.
4. When the potatoes are done, add the eggs to the frying pan.
5. Cook on low heat until the omelette is set and mostly cooked.
6. To cook the top of the omelette, place under a grill until fully cooked and golden brown.

Sangria

2 cups cranberry juice

2 cups red grape juice

1 cup orange juice

1 orange, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 apple, thinly sliced

1 to 2 cups 7up or Sprite (or carbonated water)

1. Cut the lemon and orange slices in half.
2. Mix everything except the 7up/Sprite/carbonated water in a large punch bowl.
3. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
4. Just before serving, add the 7up/Sprite/carbonated water

You could mix everything in a large jug as well but it's easier to ladle the sangria into glasses, rather than pour it, because of all the fruit.