Wednesday, Apri 24, cate 1991 ~- North Shore News - 49 Para LESLIE STOWE (left) recently ied a media strawberry cooking class possiblities for strawberry dishes. IT’S NO secret that fresh, juicy strawberries are a Canadian favorite — we eat four pounds of them per capita, while our neighbors to the south only con- sume three pounds each year. By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker News Reporter Strawberries from California have started arriving on the Ca- nadian market — the first of the 18 million pint baskets we receive from that state each year. Although the pegk season lasts from now until Mothec's Day, the strawberries will be available until October — supplemented, of course, by our own locally growa berries that will be availabie later in the season. While summertime fruits such as strawberries provide a delec- sable indulgence, you can eat as maay as you want without guilt. Eight medium-s:zed strawberries contain only 50° calories, good supphes of dietary fibre and po- tassium, and 140% of the U.S. recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C. To celebrate the arrival of this year’s pick of the crop, the California Strawberry Advisory Board recently hosted a strawberry cooking class for members of the Vancouver media. Commissioned to design new recipes and conduct the class was Lesley Stowe of Lesley Stowe’s Fine Foods at Third and Burrard in Vancouver. The creator of leg- endary desserts for Vancouver res- tauranis ~~ including the original Death By Chocolate served at Rishop’s — Stowe and her staff were more than equal to. the challenge. On the menu were four straw- berry-based desserts, veal medallions with Marsala strawoer- ry sauce, and a wonderful straw- berry fettuccine luncheon dish. After a goed deal of sampling, Uie recipes below emerged as this isporter’s favorites. Enjoy! Strawberry Fettuccine with a Chilfonade of Greens (Serves six Strawberry Pasta: 2c. flour to relate the scrumptious 1 tbsp. freshly ground pepper F egg 1 egg white 1/3 c, strawherry puree { tbsp. extra virgin olive oil In a food processor, blend flour and pepper and gradually pour in ege, egg white and strawberry puree. Let the mixture form a bal!. Empty onto the counter and knead und smooth. With a pasta machine, roll out the pasta on numbers 1,3,6, and feed through the fettuccine blade. (Note: pasta can also be hand- rolled and cut if you don't have a pesta machine.) Spread the pasta to dry slightly for 20 to 30 minutes. Cook the fetiuecine in at least four quarts of boiling, salted water for two minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, then) toss with olive oil. Dressing: 3/4 ¢, extra virgin olive oil 1/4oe. strawberry vinegar (or pureed stawherries with red wine vinegar) 1 tbsp. poppysceds saltand freshly ground pepper NEWS photo Mike Waketietd Whisk the ingredients together. 18 sprigs of watercress 18 basil leaves 18 spinach leaves 18 strawberries, quartered 12. oz mild chevre Stack the basil and = spinach leaves in piles of six. Take each stack and rot! up, starting at the short end. Slice in 44-inch strips. Toss this ‘‘chiffonade’’ toge:her with the fettucini and enough Vinaigrette to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Portion onto six plates and garnish with chevre and strawberries. iced Steawberry Sontfle (Serves six) 2 ¢. strawberry puree (bs ec. straw berries pureed in a food pro- cessor or blender) Te. sugar 2¢. whipped cream 2 egg whites ' tbsp. lemon juice 6 large strawberries & tbsp. caspberry puree (12 tbsp. raspberries pureed in food pro- cessor or blender) Tie or rape a two-inch collar of parchment of waxed paper around six. four-o¢. ramekins or small Gluten is the power contained in t inquisitive Cook ANNE GARDINER A FLAT cf fresh basil, the hallmark of the pizza parlor sits on the countertop. Behind it, the chef tosses £8 ia- ches of pizza dough to a thin, even crust. But without gluten, that pizza dough wouldn’r be do- ing those impressive spins. Gluten ois formed trom the coinbination of two proteias in Your, When moistened and mis ed, they form long strands. If you isolare gfuten from flour, i and elastic -~ much like chewing gum, Whenever you bake with flour made from wheat. rye ar ots, vouTre working with gioten. You develop gluten by Kneading a soft, sticky muss to a strang, ehistic dough. The longer sau Knead, the more the gluten por ion of flour deveiops. This makes the dough elastic enough to ex- pand as carbon dioxide is slowly released by yeast. So pista is strong, but it’s also light. You're also working with vluten when you stir paricake oatter, mis muffins ar make pastry. Bat for delicate baking that rises quivkly, gluten development shouid be kept to a minimum. A strong, elastic dough is nor what's wanted. The longer you stir, Kavad oc roll, the heavier and tougher pancakes, mutfins and pastry becorne. The more moisture you add, the greater the potential! for gluten formation. So in batiers that pour or spoon easily, like pancakes and muffins, stirring should be kept to an absolute minimum. Other ingredients affect gluten too. Pm biscuits ans! most pastry, shortening is ‘tout in’! to the flour to interfere with ghaten develup- ment -- achaaiiv “shortening” the strands oof vluten thar weauid otherwise form, Only a tite mosstur added so just enough gluten ts developed to hold che dough together. One way to control the strenyea of batters and doughs is to become familiar with different kinds of flour. Stronver flours fiave more proteia, weaker ones SONTaIN More starch. All-purpose fleur (approaimate- Iv f4 per cent proteie) is milled trom a high protein wheat. Pastry Berry sood advice THE CALIFORNIA Strawber- ry Advisory Board has the fol- lowing advice for strawberry shoppers. ¢ Berries don't being picked. Choose berries that are already ripe. but remember that not ail varieties will be a uniform red cotor when ripe — some have white areas near the top or bottom. © Choose berries with a bright shine and fresh green tops. ¢ Don’t wash the berries un- til just before eating. When washing, leave the caps on, * To freese, wash the berries with ihe caps on. Dry well on fqen spread on a cookie vad freeve. Once frozen, they can be bageed and put back in the freezer. ripen after freezer-proof dishes. In a bowl, stir 3/4 ¢. cl the sugar into the strawberry puree. Add the lemon juice and then fold in the already-whipped cream. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, and gradually beat in the remaining ‘4 c. of sugar. Con- tinue beating until the whites are suff and glossy. Fold the whites inte the strawberry mixture. Reserve 6 tsp. of the mix in the refrigerator, and spoon the rest of the souffle into the prepared tamekins. Freeze for 1% to two hours. Dice three strawberries into 4- inch cubes, and stir into the rasp- berry puree. Reserve. When the souffles are quite firm, remove from the freezer. Seoop about one tosp from the cenize of each souffle, and fill with the casnberry puree. Smooth some of the reserved souffle mix- ture on top of each souffle to cover the puree. Return to the freezer for 20 minutes, HF the souffles are left longer, then remove from the freezer 20 miinures before serving. Remove the collar before serving. e flour flour. from soft wheat, has a lower protein content (ever to nine per sent} which means poten- dally less giuten — aad more tender pastry. Cake flour, with the lowest pro- tein content (approximately six per cent) is designed for delicate buk- ing. You can substitute all-pur- pose flour for cake flour by removing two tablespoons (25 mi} of flour and adding two table- spoons (25 mi) of cornstarch per cap (230 mi). Rye is inferier to wheal in ity protzin content so it's tess able to form gluten. Gats contain even less ghiten than rye. Good pizza depends on the power in’ fleur. Good cooking rests Gn knowing which dotighs need that power and which don't.