Fraises Nina

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Ice-cream machine, or a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) shallow metal tray and food processor
• •Blender and fine-mesh sieve
• •1-quart (1-liter) metal timbale or deep serving bowl
• •Cold mixing bowl, whisk, and broad flexible spatula

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the sherbet base

   Combine the granulated sugar and ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir only until the sugar dissolves, then take it off the heat and cool completely. Blend the pineapple with the cold syrup until fluid and smooth, then press it through a fine-mesh sieve. Chill the base until thoroughly cold; a warm mixture churns slowly, and slow churning builds coarse ice.

2. 2

   Freeze the sherbet

   Churn the pineapple base until dense and softly set, then scrape it into a shallow metal container and freeze for 2 to 3 hours. It is ready when a spoon meets resistance and leaves a clean-edged furrow. Reserve exactly 14 ounces (400 g) for the dessert, preserving the book's equal-weight ratio between fruit and sherbet. If the sherbet freezes coarse or icy, pulse it briefly in a food processor while still very cold, smooth it back into the container, and freeze again for 20 minutes. Ça se rattrape.

   Without an ice-cream machine, freeze the base in a shallow metal tray and scrape it vigorously every 30 minutes. Once nearly firm, process it until smooth and return it to the freezer.
3. 3

   Prepare the pink purée

   Put the red bell pepper, ginger, and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) water in a small covered saucepan. Cook over gentle heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pepper is completely tender, then uncover and cook away any visible water. Blend to a smooth red purée and press it through a fine sieve. Chill it completely. The purée must be concentrated and cold, since a warm or watery one loosens the Chantilly.

4. 4

   Whip the Chantilly

   Reserve 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the cold cream. Whisk the remaining cream with the confectioners' sugar until it holds soft, rounded peaks, then whisk in 2 teaspoons of the chilled capsicum purée. Add only enough of the remaining purée to give the Chantilly a clear blush and a faint ginger finish, no more than 1 tablespoon in all. If the cream loosens, chill the bowl for 10 minutes and whisk again. If it begins to look grainy, stop immediately and fold in the reserved liquid cream until smooth; ça se rattrape before yellow butter beads appear.

5. 5

   Drain the strawberries

   Set the prepared wild strawberries from Fraises Marguerite (No. 2675) in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for 5 minutes. Do not press them. Wild berries bruise easily, and bruised fruit releases the juice that makes this dessert weep. Weigh out 14 ounces (400 g) after draining and keep the berries cold.

6. 6

   Cohere fruit and sherbet

   Freeze a 1-quart (1-liter) metal timbale or serving bowl and a mixing bowl for 20 minutes. Let the 14 ounces (400 g) of pineapple sherbet stand only until a broad spatula can cut through it, while it remains firm and matte. Put it in the cold mixing bowl, scatter over the equal weight of strawberries, and fold three or four times, just until the berries are held throughout the sherbet. If the mixture turns glossy, slumps, or begins leaking juice, spread it in the chilled bowl and freeze for 10 to 15 minutes before continuing.

7. 7

   Fill and cover

   Spoon the strawberry and sherbet mixture into the frozen timbale, mounding it gently without crushing the berries. Cover the surface completely with the pink Chantilly, leaving generous soft ridges from the back of the spoon. Serve at once. If the table keeps you waiting, hold the filled timbale in the freezer and the Chantilly in the refrigerator separately, then cover it at the last moment. For a longer passage to the table, nest the timbale in a shallow bowl of crushed ice. À table!

Chef Tips

• •True wild strawberries are small, intensely perfumed, and fragile. This dish genuinely earns them. If they cannot be had in season, use the smallest ripe local strawberries you can find, quartered to roughly the same size; the perfume changes, but the structure remains sound.
• •Use sweet red bell pepper, called red capsicum in the source, never a hot chile. Its work is color and a quiet fruitiness beneath the ginger, not heat.
• •Cold tools buy you working time. Chill the timbale, mixing bowl, spatula, and serving spoon before assembly, especially during warm weather.
• •Do not soften the sherbet for easy mixing. Soft sherbet and macerated fruit make syrup together, and no amount of whipped cream can conceal the puddle.

Advance Preparation

• •The pineapple base may be blended and chilled up to 24 hours ahead. Churn it 2 to 3 hours before serving so the sherbet is freshly frozen but fully firm.
• •The red-capsicum-and-ginger purée may be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Whip the Chantilly no more than 2 hours before serving.
• •Prepare the strawberry component through Fraises Marguerite (No. 2675) shortly before assembly, then drain and chill it. Do not leave the delicate berries macerating for hours.
• •The fruit and sherbet may be cohered and held in the frozen timbale for 15 minutes, but add the Chantilly only when the dessert is ready to travel to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)