As a kid I would never eat strawberry ice cream so I find it odd how much I now like the taste of strawberry (or actually the taste of fresh strawberries). For me strawberries are great all on their own, strawberries with whipped cream and a little sugar are great as well, strawberries with sour cream can be pretty darn great, but strawberries with whipped cream, sour cream, sugar, a little mint and some Kirsch, well this would be taking greatness to a new level. But actually, this is an old level, an 1820's level as these would be the ingredients for Strawberries Romanoff. Why was I so surprised to learn that such deliciousness was created more than 190 years ago for Czar Alexander I (of the House of Romanoff) and is a recipe (a rather simple one) that continues to bring joy to our palates today? Considering so many recipes are actually centuries years old, I guess I shouldn't have been.
I have been known to buy many kitchen tools, but the strawberry huller is one that I have not been lulled into buying as I think a knife works perfectly. When hulling strawberries, I like to make a V-cut near the stem of the strawberry. Once the stems are removed, larger berries are then cut into thirds and smaller berries cut in half.
A quarter cup of Kirsch is poured over the strawberries and then very lightly mashed (I would call it more of a pressing lightly than actually mashing) with the back of a wooden spoon to help to release their juices. You can keep the berries whole, however, I think cutting them makes the eating of this dessert so much easier when you are able to take in bite sized pieces of the berries. A quarter cup of organic cane sugar and a small handful of fresh mint leaves (I used about 12-14 leaves) are then mixed into the berries. I didn't have Demerara sugar so I used organic cane sugar instead, and I was very happy with the results.
After the Kirsch, sugar and mint are all mixed with the strawberries, set aside to mascerate for 20 to 30 minutes (this is done at room temperature).
One cup of whipping cream, one tablespoon of white sugar and one third cup of sour cream are mixed in medium sized bowl using either a hand mixer or whisk and whipped until light, soft peaks form.
After the berries have been allowed to mascerate for 20-30 minutes and the whipped cream mixture is ready, you begin to layer them in clear glasses or in a glass bowl. The layers are so beautiful that you will definitely want to serve the Strawberries Romanoff in clear glass, to serve in a bowl you can't see through would be like having to eat with your eyes closed.
Recipe
Strawberries Romanoff (inspired by the recipe created by The Canal House)
Ingredients
1 generous quart of fresh strawberries (for a yield of 4 cups of strawberries)
1/ 4 cup of Kirsch or Kirschwasser
1/4 cup of Organic Cane or Demerara sugar
Handful of fresh mint leaves (12-14 leaves)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
Directions
1. Hull strawberries. Cut larger ones in thirds and smaller ones in half.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of Kirsch over berries and very gently mash to release juices (you still want the berries to retain their shape).
3. Mix in 1/4 cup Organic Cane or Demerara sugar and handful of mint leaves. Allow berries to mascerate for 20-30 minutes.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, begin whipping the cream until slightly thickened. Add the sugar and sour cream and continue mixing until soft peaks form.
5. Beginning with the berries and some of their juices, layer the berries and cream in glasses or in a bowl. Each glass should have two layers of each. Top with fresh mint leaves.
6. Chill covered or serve immediately.
It is hard to believe that we have entered the seventh month of the year. Time moves much to quickly or at least my perception of the rate of the movement of time has changed significantly as I have gotten older. As a kid, waiting for a friend to finish eating dinner seemed like an eternity (the actual wait when I was ten was about 20 minutes). And now as an adult, days feel like hours sometimes and the years, well the years feel like they went into warp speed years ago.
The concept of savoring time is not one I have a great deal of experience with. My mind is usually racing and filled with all sorts of random, tangential thoughts (although for me they really aren't tangential because I can make connections between all of them). I have always found it a challenge to just chill and 'do nothing' for an hour or even several hours without feeling guilty that I should be doing something. 'Do nothing' for me means just laying on the beach without reading a book, just wandering around a bookstore browsing (not reading), giving myself permission to stay in bed on the weekends looking through magazines or cookbooks or just giving myself think time. But the time has come (no pun intended) for me give myself permission to just see relaxing as a good thing, a reenergizing thing. If relaxing for me can be just reading a book for a few hours without checking email/texts/Facebook/Twitter, then this would be monumental progress in how I use time. Who knows, maybe the days will feel just a little bit longer if I don't rush through them.
