serves
12
prep
30 minutes
cook
15 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
12
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
15
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh strawberries
- ⅓ cup honey
- 500 g vanilla yoghurt (see Note)
- 2 tsp agar agar
- 60 ml (¼ cup) water
- 250 ml (1 cup) thickened cream
Pistachio crust
- 200 g unroasted, unsalted pistachios
- 100 g almond meal
- 10 pitted dates
- 2 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil
- a pinch of salt
You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.
Instructions
Wash, hull and quarter your strawberries. Place in a saucepan with the honey and cook over medium-low heat until the strawberries release their liquid. Give them a stir, and let the liquid reduce to a syrup, about 10 minutes. It will continue to thicken to a runny honey consistency as it cools, so do not over-thicken.
Scoop the strawberries out of the syrup with a slotted spoon, reserving the syrup, and puree them thoroughly in a food processor. Transfer the puree to a large a bowl and let cool completely.
In the meantime, prepare the crust. Grease the base of a 23-cm round cake tin and line with baking paper. Finely grind the pistachios in a food processor, then add all the remaining ingredients and process until the crust comes together. Add a couple more dates or 1 tbsp honey if it needs some help. Flatten into the bottom of the tin and keep refrigerated until needed.
Once everything is cool, add the yoghurt to the strawberry purée. Place the agar agar and 60 ml ( ¼ cup) water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the agar agar is dissolved. Stir in 60 ml (¼ cup) reserved strawberry syrup, then gradually add to the yoghurt mixture, stirring until well combined.
Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until stiff, then gently fold into the yoghurt mixture (make sure the yoghurt mixture is cool before adding the whipped cream).
Pour the cream mixture over the base and refrigerate overnight to thicken, or even better, for 24 hours. You can also stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours and it will turn into a sort of delicious pudding semifreddo.
Note
• Pick a good-quality, natural yoghurt with no added junk. If you prefer plain yoghurt instead of vanilla, scrape the seeds out of a vanilla bean into the strawberries when you cook them, throwing in the whole pod as well.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
