strawberry soup

Beatrice & Clementine went out to Moon Farms on Sunday afternoon and picked three gallons of strawberries. With all our berries, we are doing to make strawberry soup. This recipe is eye appealing, delicious and refreshing. A great addition to a Mothers Day meal.

strawberries and strawberry soup with crisp meringue, black pepper and sabayon
serves 6

strawberry soup
½ cup white sugar
½ cup cold water
4 cups hulled strawberries
1 cup champagne
1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely minced

Place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, you made simple syrup.

Place strawberries in a blender and add the simple syrup. Puree until smooth. Pass through coarse strainer into a bowl.

With a spoon fold in the champagne and the mint into the strawberry puree.

Reserve.

meringues
6 egg whites
pinch of salt
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups white granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 200°F.

With whisk attachment on mixer beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, tartar and vanilla. Slowly add the sugar and beat until the eggwhites are lofty, stiff but smooth, about six to eight minutes.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Place meringue base into a pastry bag and pipe into sixteen 3-inch diameter circles onto the foil.

Bake for 1 ½ hours or until they are dry to the touch and crisp.

sabayon
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
¼ cup white granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod scrapped
zest of two lemons, juice of one
1 teaspoon freshly ground black tellicherry peppercorn
3/4 cup champagne

Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks and keep in fridge.

In a large SS bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and champagne. Place over water bath (double boiler) and carefully whisk, but vigorously, until foamy and thicker. Remove from heat and continue whisking until thick and COOL.

Fold sabayon base into whipped cream.

Set aside.

strawberries
1 teaspoon cointreau
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups strawberries

toss together and let sit at room temp for one hour.

Assembly
Lay out six nice bowls and pour even amounts of the strawberry soup in each. Place a nice little piles of macerated berries in each, place a tablespoon of sabayon, one meringue more sabayon and then the final meringue. Garnish with fresh mint.