Kashubian 'ruchanki' drop scones, marinated strawberries, consommé, sorbet and elderflower

  • 4
  • 2 hours 30 minutes plus time for chilling sorbet overnight
5.00

This summery Polish dessert from Kuba Winkowski is served with ruchanki, an icing-sugar dusted delight from Kashubia that is reminiscent of a fried drop scone. The whole dish is finished with piles of strawberries: whole, in sorbet and as a jewel-like consommé.

First published in 2024

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Strawberry sorbet

  • 10g of Stabiliser Stab 2000
  • 175g of granulated sugar
  • 250g of water
  • 50g of glucose
  • 500g of strawberries, hulled
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Strawberry consommé

Marinated strawberries

Chantilly cream

  • 200g of whipping cream, chilled
  • 10g of caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ruchanki

  • 250g of plain flour
  • 5g of cane sugar
  • 5g of active dry yeast
  • 1g of salt
  • 125g of whole milk, warmed to 35°C
  • 2 eggs
  • 20g of butter, melted and cooled
  • sunflower oil, for frying
  • icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1

 Mix the stabiliser with 10g sugar

  • 10g of Stabiliser Stab 2000
  • 10g of granulated sugar
2

 Bring the water, glucose and remaining sugar to the boil, and stir until everything has dissolved

  • 250g of water
  • 50g of glucose
  • 165g of granulated sugar
3

Whisk in the sugar and stabiliser mixture, and then cook for 2 minutes and pass through a fine sieve

4

Blend the strawberries until they form a purée

5

Mix the blended strawberries with the sorbet syrup and lemon juice

6

 Freeze the sorbet in Paco Jet/Ninja beakers and process when ready to serve. Alternatively, chill overnight then churn in the ice cream machine and then freeze until solid

7

Cut any large strawberries into quarters, and the smaller ones in half

8

Toss the strawberries with elderflower cordial, lemon zest and a little lemon juice

  • elderflower cordial, as needed
  • 3 lemons, zested and juiced
9

Leave at room temperature to marinate for an hour or so

10

Mix all the ingredients for the strawberry consommé together in a heatproof bowl. Cover tightly with cling film

11

Place the bowl over a pan of gently boiling, steaming water for 45 minutes

12

Pass the consommé through a fine sieve and then through muslin, and chill

13

Whip all the ingredients for the Chantilly cream together in a bowl until they form soft peaks

  • 200g of whipping cream, chilled
  • 10g of caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
14

Place in a piping bag

15

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the warm milk, egg, and melted butter. Stir until the mixture is well combined into a thick batter

  • 250g of plain flour
  • 5g of cane sugar
  • 5g of active dry yeast
  • 1g of salt
  • 125g of whole milk, warmed to 35°C
  • 2 eggs
  • 20g of butter, melted and cooled
16

Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes

17

Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan over a medium-high heat. It’s ready when a small piece of batter dropped into the oil sizzles

  • sunflower oil, for frying
18

Drop small spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil, spreading each one out slightly. Fry the ruchanki for 1–2 minutes until the bottom is golden, and the top is just starting to dry out. Flip them and cook on the second side for 1–2 minutes, or until golden. Remove the drop scones from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate

  • sunflower oil, for frying
19

Repeat the process with the remaining dough, adding more oil as necessary. Ruchanki are best crisp and fresh from the pan, so if you can serve them straight from the pan, do so

20

To put the dish together, arrange ruchanki (about 5) in the middle of the plate. Dust with icing sugar. Use the chantilly cream to secure the strawberries onto the drop scones, then pipe cream into the gaps

  • icing sugar, for dusting
21

Place one scone flat at the top, make sure it is stable, and place a nice quenelle of strawberry sorbet over the top. Serve consommé on the side in a jug and pour at the table

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From moving to England at twenty-four to attend catering college to being named National Chef of The Year 2019, Kuba Winkowski has rocketed to the top in record time. His cooking is refined, peppered with Polish influences and – most importantly – delicious.

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