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.
Mix the stabiliser with 10g sugar
Bring the water, glucose and remaining sugar to the boil, and stir until everything has dissolved
Whisk in the sugar and stabiliser mixture, and then cook for 2 minutes and pass through a fine sieve
Blend the strawberries until they form a purée
Mix the blended strawberries with the sorbet syrup and lemon juice
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
Cut any large strawberries into quarters, and the smaller ones in half
Toss the strawberries with elderflower cordial, lemon zest and a little lemon juice
Leave at room temperature to marinate for an hour or so
Mix all the ingredients for the strawberry consommé together in a heatproof bowl. Cover tightly with cling film
Place the bowl over a pan of gently boiling, steaming water for 45 minutes
Pass the consommé through a fine sieve and then through muslin, and chill
Whip all the ingredients for the Chantilly cream together in a bowl until they form soft peaks
Place in a piping bag
Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes
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
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
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
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
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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