Strawberry & Cape Gooseberry Pink Peppercorn Fro Yo ... Here's Spring!

"Oh, they's so fresh an' fine, an' they's jus' off the vine.

Straw-ber-ry! Staw-ber-ry!"

Porgy and Bess

Yesterday was the first day of Spring in North India, 'Basant' as it's locally called. It makes the end of winter here and is celebrated with the festival of colour, Holi. It's quite surprising to see that year after year the Hindu calendar marks a different date for Holi, and this is always the first day of Spring. The weather magically changes, and the date is never wrong! It always marks the last day of winter, of warm clothes, and dispels the need for that warm, comforting bowl of soup.

There's Spring in the air, fruits galore, colour in every frame, a freshness in the breeze and birds chirping incessantly. Yes, they know it too, as do the butterflies. I made this fruity fro yo to celebrate the arrival of Spring, and to use up certain ingredients in my fridge which were threatening me with dire consequences!!

My SIL in Pune told me about this beautiful hung curd like cheese she made the other day. She had used whole milk curd that she hung for extra long. She cut cubes out of it, tossed it into a salad, and got a taste pretty close to fresh feta. It sounded divine, creamy and delicious. I was hooked and 2 days later had a kilo of homemade whole milk curd hanging in the fridge.

For some reason life decided to chart it's own tiresome course, and I eventually never got down to using it in my planned menu. Day 3 had the curd cheese weighing heavy, heavier than the whey it gave up, in my mind. Had to be used quick. I doused it in some olive oil to protect it. Another day went by and it was a now or never. A quick change in plans had me thinking frozen yogurt.

In went strawberries and cape gooseberries, the latter a tart and intriguing tropical fruit which is rather underrated here and probably doesn't deserve the credit it deserves. When we were young, it was sold covered in it's husky cover, in basketfuls. Here now we find it sold differently, with the covers pulled back and the inner berry exposed trying to attract your attention ... maybe an attempt to get it to sell more. It's even prettier when you slice it...

In also went some vanilla sugar which I make all the time, have jar fulls ready, and is one of my best discoveries through blogging. A quick look around the shelves had me reach out for some pretty pink peppercorns that Anushruti had send me from her mothers' garden some time back. Pepper and strawberries, IMHO, are a nice combination; pink pepper with them, even better! I used the same combination in my Mac-a-Verrines just recently with amaxing results!

The result was a tangy, creamy, delicious frozen yogurt, just right for anytime, bursting with fresh fruity flavours. The pink peppercorn lent it a beautiful edgy kick, one that I love paired with strawberries. It's mild and comes through with gentle sensuality. I served it with sliced fresh fruit, and it tasted slam dunk delicious.

 

Strawberry & Cape Gooseberry Pink Peppercorn Fro Yo
Ingredients:
Curd cheese made from 1.5 litres full fat milk, hung for 2 days in fridge
2 tbsps olive oil
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1 tbsp vodka, optional
300gms strawberries, hulled and quartered
100gms cape gooseberries, halved

Method:

Place the cut fruit in a glass bowl with the vanilla sugar and leave to stand for about an hour.

Puree the berries well with an immersion blender. (You can strain them if you don't like the seeds, but I like to leave them in for texture)

Add the hung curd and break it up gently, then blend everything well with the immersion blender. Add the pink peppercorn and vodka, if using, and blend again. (Vodka helps to keep the ice-cream from getting frozen rock solid).

Turn it into a freezer suitable container, and place in the freezer. Whisk every hour to break and distribute crystals, or set according to the instructions of your ice cream maker. 

Leave it to set overnight. ENJOY!!

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