Strawberry Hibiscus Granita

It has been so. HOT. Unrelenting! Go outside to water the plants and come in sweating hot. 80 degrees at 7 in the morning hot. The subway station feels like the bowels of hell kind of hot.

Ice for dessert! Perfect.

I know I'm a little late to the strawberry game, but even if you can't find local strawberries anymore, you should still be able to make a rather respectable granita out of berries from the supermarket. Or improvise! Blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries - even sweet cherries - would make a fantastic substitute.



Strawberry Hibiscus Granita

adapted from Bon Appetit

4 hibiscus tea bags (I used Tazo Passion)
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 cup agave nectar
juice of one lime

Steep the tea bags in 1.5 cups boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove tea bags and chill tea until cold, about an hour. Blend strawberries in a blender until pureed, add chilled tea, agave nectar, and lime juice, and whirl for another second in the blender until just combined. Pour strawberry mixture into a 9x13x2 pan and place carefully in the freezer. Freeze for 2 hours, until a hard top layer forms, and then scrape and smash with a fork to loosen the ice crystals. Freeze another 30 minutes and scrape again, repeating every 30 minutes for about 2 more hours, until fluffy and frozen through. Divide among bowls and serve.

Lemon-Fennel Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Conserve

It took me a few hours to figure out what to do with my huge haul of strawberries from the market last week.  First I thought I would make strawberry shortcake.  Simple, allowing the strawberries to show off.  Then I considered this strawberry summer cake.  Then this strawberry upside-down cake with cardamom.  I couldn't decide!  I agonized!  I searched!  I read recipe after recipe trying to find something that would be worthy of these first summer strawberries.  I had settled on a strawberry-rhubarb crumble - the perfect way, I thought, to highlight the short period of time in which both are available!

Then, at the last minute, I didn't.  I decided to make an unrelated cake, and top it with a simple conserve of strawberries and rhubarb.  And I was right.  I will surely be making some cakes, pies, and crumbles with the strawberries to come, but for now, this was exactly what I wanted.  Plus, a bonus!  There's leftover conserve in the fridge, ready to be spooned directly into my mouth when I need a shockingly delicious reminder that it's finally, officially summer!  Happy summer, everyone!

Lemon-Fennel Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Conserve

The combination of ground pine nuts, yogurt, and olive oil gives this cake an almost pudding-like texture.  It is not too sweet, and is very delicious toasted the next morning for breakfast.

For the cake:
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup ground pine nuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch standard loaf pan, and line with parchment so that the edges are folded over the sides like this (this makes the cake SO EASY to get out of the pan - it's like a little hammock you can use to lift it onto a cooling rack!). 

Sift together the flour, pine nuts, baking soda, fennel seeds and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and lemon zest.  Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Fold in the olive oil.  Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake for 50-55 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Serve with strawberry-rhubarb conserve and a little dollop of plain whole-milk yogurt.

For the conserve:
2 cups hulled and halved super-ripe strawberries
2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
zest of 1 lemon, in strips

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and bubbling, but not so long that the fruit loses all of its shape.  Remove the lemon zest strips, cool and serve.

The Crostata That Almost Wasn't



Sometimes things just work out.

Yesterday afternoon, the Coppertop Guy called me.  A friend of ours who lives in Indiana had a really early flight out of O'Hare this morning and needed a place to crash.  We expected him to get in really late, say hi, go to sleep, and then leave before we woke up.  At about 5, CG called again to say that our friend had gotten on an earlier train and was going to be to our place at about 7.  I love to feed people, so I was happy about this new development.  I got home from work, looked at the messy house, decided that people like to eat more than they like to look at clean rooms, and went straight to the kitchen.  I threw together the crust for this absolutely lovely strawberry rhubarb crostata that I had been planning.  CG got home and I found out immediately that he did not share my opinion about messy rooms not mattering.  Ah well, marriage is a learning experience, after all.  I baked chicken breasts and potatoes, made these butter-glazed radishes and carrots, and tossed together a quick spinach salad.  While everything was working (I love braised and baked things - you can get them going and then go do something else!), I made the strawberry-rhubarb filling.  Then we sat down to eat.

I love when friends unexpectedly drop by.  This is probably due in part to my leave-the-mess-and-let's-have-some-cake mentality, but mostly I just love having people around.  This particular friend just finished his Master's degree and is about to start a new job, left this morning for a week-long trip to El Salvador, and his wife is having a baby in August.  It was so nice to have this impromptu get-together to catch up and hear about his life.  With all the ways we have to communicate with each other, nothing can replace a face-to-face conversation over a shared meal.

Not to mention, it can really pay off to have an extra pair (or two) of hands in the kitchen.

Caught up as I was in the lively conversation we were all having, I didn't give my full attention to the crostata assembly.  I took the little disk of dough out of the fridge, sprinkled flour on the counter, and started rolling.  I got it all rolled out, poured the filling on top, folded up the edges... and then remembered that I was supposed to have done all this on a piece of parchment so that I could transfer it from the counter to a baking sheet. 

Pause for a moment of panic.

These two sweet men who were casually chatting in the kitchen saw the impending catasrophe, and with barely a word from me, they sprang into action!  It took six hands and two spatulas to get that sucker onto the pan, but it didn't fall apart!  Woohoo!  Crisis averted!

I am very thankful for my friends.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crostata

adapted from Bon Appetit, May 2011

The flavor of the whole wheat flour adds a whole new level to the crust, and its nuttiness stands up well to the intense flavor of the rhubarb.  I used coarse kosher salt, and I loved coming across the little intact bits of it as I ate!  Salt + butter + sugar = good.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg

1 tablespoon whole milk

Filling:

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices rhubarb (about 6 stalks)

1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg, beaten

Raw sugar

Combine both flours, sugar, and salt in a processor; blend for 5 seconds. Add butter; pulse until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces. Whisk egg and milk in a small bowl to blend; add to processor and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Dissolve cornstarch in 3 Tbsp. water in a small bowl; set aside. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar dissolves and juices are released, about 4 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil (rhubarb will not be tender and slices will still be intact). Transfer to a bowl. Chill until cool, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 12" round; brush with beaten egg. Mound filling in center of crust; gently spread out, leaving 1 1/2" border. Gently fold edges of dough over filling, pleating as needed. Brush border with egg; sprinkle with raw sugar. Slide parchment with crostata onto a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 minutes. Let crostata cool on baking sheet on a rack. Transfer crostata to a platter, cut into wedges, and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.