Saturday, August 05, 2006

Ooh La La

Diane made some comments yesterday about the use of rosemary skewers in cooking and it reminded me of this totally delicious recipe. (It is also very impressive, presentation-wise, should you be in need of impressing someone). The original recipe came from Jamie Oliver - a British chef who you either love or find extremely annoying. (I love him). He's the one with the floppy hair, the lisp and the crusade to ban nasty, un-nutritious lunches from Britian's school.


Strawberry Kebabs

4 long branches of fresh rosemary
6 strawberries, per person (look for good sized, firm but ripe berries)
8 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
9 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 lemon, zested

Strip nearly all the leaves from the rosemary branches, just leaving a tuft on the end. Reserve some of the leaves, chop finely and set aside. (Use the remaining leaves for other recipes). Cut the tops off the strawberries, then thread 6 onto each rosemary stick. Place the sticks on a wire rack over a tray.

Put the water in a heavy-bottomed pan with 1 cup of the sugar and bring to the boil. Gentle swirl the pan once or twice but don't overdo it and don't stir it with a spoon. The mixture will clear, then bubble and then slowly get darker and darker. Keep an eye on it because once it starts to turn to caramel it can go very quickly from ready to burnt. It's ready when it's a golden brown. Pour caramel over strawberies.

Whisk the mascarpone with enough sugar to make it sweet (probably about 2 tablespoons, but you may need a little more or less). Add in half the lemon zest.

To serve, spoon some mascarpone in the center of each plate & sprinkle lightly with chopped rosemary. Lay a kebab on top, and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest.

Labels: , , ,

2 Comments:

Blogger Br. Jonathan opined...

Jamie Oliver is just a little too intense for me. I find myself wanting to shoot him with a tranquilizer dart like they do on "Wild Kingdom."

August 05, 2006 12:09 PM  
Blogger Lorraine opined...

Well, like I said, you either love him or you hate him. But you will love these kebabs, Jon. Trust me.

August 05, 2006 1:03 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home