Dish of the Day: Salt Yard’s Ben Tish on the perfect strawberries and cream
There’s nothing like the sight and scent of perfectly ripe, red strawberries to get summer spirits soaring.
My take on the quintessentially English classic of strawberries and cream is quick and easy to prepare, making it a great choice of pudding for a spontaneous barbecue or al fresco lunch.
Macerated simply means you’re throwing it in a bowl with sugar. We serve some of the strawberries with a little vinegar alongside the fresh ones, for an interesting textural contrast. Black pepper and balsamic vinegar work really well with strawberries. If you go to the south of Italy, a bowl of strawberries with balsamic and some peppercorns on the side is classic.
Everybody loves strawberries and cream, but if you want to do it a bit differently then this has a real wow factor. It’s also super simple to make: everybody could try this in their kitchens.
I’ve been cooking for about 20 years and I’ve worked a lot with Jason Atherton. We grew up together so he got me into cooking and he’s a bit of a mentor to me.
Once I reached Michelin-star standard, I wanted to go more simple and rustic so I got into Italian cooking. I worked at Al Duca around Piccadilly Circus for a while and decided that was the direction I wanted to go in. I worked in a hotel for three years, then about eight years ago I came back to London because Salt Yard was looking for a head chef. The rest is history, really, and now I’m a partner of the group.
I do a lot of walking between the four restaurants – Salt Yard, The Opera Tavern, Ember Yard and Dehesa – to do tastings and change things on the menus. Sometimes I do miss being in the kitchen but we’re doing the Taste of London and Wilderness festivals this year so I’m looking forward to getting down to some cooking there.
Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 400g seasonal ripe strawberries
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Juice and zest of 1/2 an orange
- 55g caster sugar
- 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
- 100g mascarpone
- Seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod
Method
- Remove the stalks from the strawberries and cut in half lengthwise (or into quarters if they’re large). Take half the strawberries and place them in a bowl along with the vinegar, orange juice and zest, 30g of caster sugar and the black pepper.
- Toss everything together and leave the strawberries to macerate for about 30 minutes in a warm spot, such as near the cooker.
- Whisk the mascarpone with the remaining 25g of sugar and the vanilla seeds.
- Divide the fresh strawberries between serving plates and spoon on the macerated strawberries together with their flavoursome marinating juices. Finish each plate with a scoop of the vanilla .