Love strawberries? Make these unique dishes this winter season

Strawberries are heavenly. The delicious red fruits are soft and juicy, and an absolute delight. Apart from eating them plain, some of the most common ways people have consumed them over the years are by indulging in strawberry milkshakes, strawberries and fresh cream, vanilla ice cream with freshly cut strawberries, and if you've lived in Maharashtra long enough, you know how you have to enjoy strawberries in every form in Mahabaleshwar. But chefs say there is a lot more that can be done with them.

With the winter season here, it's impossible to ignore strawberries, which are available in abundance right now. The mystery of getting either more sweetness or tart in every bite is one of the most important aspects of eating the fruit.

Keeping the flavours and fruit in mind this winter, mid-day.com spoke to Indian chefs to get some of their favourite and most innovative recipes to enjoy the fruit this season. While they want you to indulge in a salad and porridge, they also want you to add the fruit to crumble and other desserts, along with Italian dishes, like you have never before.

Winter Special Salad
The easiest way to include any seasonal vegetable or fruit is by including it in a salad and the strawberry is no different this winter season. Chef
Abhishek Pednekar, executive chef at Woodside Inn in Andheri and Bandra says people can simply make the Winter Special Salad, which he serves at the restaurant. He explains, "It's a winter special salad with strawberries which are in season and the speciality of this salad is the strawberry vinaigrette dressing." It's because Pednekar has observed most people only use it raw, but has more to it and even gives a hue and festive flavour to the salad.

Ingredients:
Chioggia Beet 200 gm
Strawberries 200 gm
Water chestnuts 100gm
Radicchio lettuce 50 gm
Kale lettuce 50 gm
Roasted hazelnuts 10 gm
Brussel sprouts 30 gm
Olive oil 50 ml
Vinegar 20 ml
Salt 10 gm
Black pepper 5 gm
Feta cheese 10 gm

Method:
1. First make the dressing for salad. Take 150 gm of strawberries, olive
oil, vinegar, blend together. Peel and slice Chioggia beets and marinate it
with 30 ml of dressing and keep it aside.
2. Blanch water chestnut and Brussel sprouts and allow them to cool and apply salt, olive oil and black pepper to it
3. For plating the salad, place the marinated Chioggia beets at the bottom.
In a separate bowl toss kale and radicchio lettuce with Brussel sprouts, water chestnuts diced strawberries with the dressing and adjust the
seasoning.
4. Place the lettuce mixture on top of Chioggia beets and garnish the salad with roasted hazelnuts and feta cheese.

Strawberry Crumble
When you talk about strawberries, it's impossible to not talk about
desserts, and with the winter season here, one has to soak in the
festivities by giving in to their sweet tooth craving. So, Raveena Taurani,
founder and head chef at Yogisattva Cafe, says you can make a Strawberry Crumble. She explains, "I love using organic strawberries when in season to make this beautiful crumble. Indian strawberries are very tart, so the
sweetness of maple syrup combined with the tartness of Indian strawberries
along with a crunchy element on top makes this a perfect dessert for the strawberry season. Top it with vanilla ice cream and you have a winner."

Ingredients:
For the filling:
Strawberry (washed, dried and sliced) 4 cups
Tapioca flour 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Organic maple syrup 1⁄4 cup OR jaggery powder 1/2 cup

For the crumble:
Raw almonds 1/2 cup
Rolled oats 1/4 cup
Coconut oil 2 tbsp
Coconut sugar 3 tbsp
Pure vanilla extract 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon 1 tsp
Sea salt 1/4 tsp

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Toss the sliced strawberries
in a large bowl with the lemon juice, tapioca flour and maple syrup, and
arrange at the bottom of a baking dish of your choice.
2. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the crumble topping.
3. Add the almonds to a high-speed blender or food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until a thick crumb mixture forms. Don't blend for so long that it gets pasty, though.
4. Sprinkle the topping generously all over the strawberries, then bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Fettucine with Rucola, Avocado and Bocconcini
If you love Italian food, then master chef Mohd. Shahnawaz of ITC Grand Central in Parel, says you can make a delicious Strawberry Fettucine with Rucola, Avocado and Bocconcini.

He explains, "Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits. It has multiple health benefits as it supports one's immunity, and whilst being extremely tasty it also moderates one's blood sugar." At Hornby's Pavilion, the chefs say they often prepare desserts or beverages with strawberry toppings or as main ingredients. However, this recipe is his favourite. "I love preparing Strawberry Fettucine with Rucola, Avocado and Bocconcini because children love it the most."

Ingredients:
Avocado 1 piece
Bocconcini 5 pieces
Fresh strawberry puree 500 ml
Agar Agar 5 gm
Rucola and Basil leaves a handful

Dressing:
Olive oil 100 ml
Balsamic vinegar 50 ml
Mustard 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Take the avocado for salad by removing the skin and seeds and cutting it into cubes.
2. Cut the Bocconcini in half.
3. Wash and clean rucola leaves and basil.
4. For the strawberry fettucine, mix some salt and sugar in the strawberry
puree and then add some agar agar and mix well.
5. Spread the mixture on a flat tray and let it set; once set cut it into long strips (shape of fettucine).
6. Assemble all together and serve.

Fresh Strawberry Dome
Mukesh Kumar Singh, who is the executive chef of Novotel Imagicaa Khopoli, believes there are many ways to make use of fresh fruit. If you want to go beyond a regular salad but want to have an elaborate dessert, then he says you can make a Fresh Strawberry Dome. The dish comprising strawberry jelly and strawberry cream is a complete treat if you love the winter special.

Strawberry Fresh Jelly
Ingredients:
Gelatine 20 gm
Strawberry puree 200 gm
Grain sugar 25 gm
Water 65 ml (for gelatine soaking)

Strawberry cream
Ingredients:
Whipped cream 200 gm
Caster sugar 25 gm
Strawberry puree 75 gm
Gelatine 15 gm
Lemon juice 1 ml

Method:
1. Place a pan over medium flame and add sugar along with water in it. Cook the mixture for about 4-5 minutes and leave to cool. Now, add the fresh strawberries in a blender jar and blend them to form a smooth puree. Add this puree to the sugar syrup and mix well. Strain this mixture into a bowl using a muslin cloth to remove the red liquid.
2. Next, mix gelatine powder with half a cup of cold water and make sure it melts. Next, add the gelatin mixture to the red liquid and mix well. Pour this liquid into the desired mould and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
3. Put strawberry pulp, cinnamon, and sugar into the small pan.
Sprinkle the gelatine over water and let it soak. Heat strawberry mixture over low heat, stirring all the time, till warm.
4. When warm, add the soaked gelatine and continue stirring till it reaches a coating consistency.
Beat the whipped cream double in volume and mix with another mixture.
5. Remove from heat, allow cooling, and mix in the lemon juice, and pour into the individual Dom shape mould and leave to cool.
6. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices, mint chill and decorate as required.

Vegan Strawberry Porridge
Just like you can add a mix of flavours to salads, porridge also gives people the liberty to experiment with strawberries. Divyanshi Patel, executive chef at Hotel Astor Goa in Candolim, says you can start simple with a Vegan Strawberry Porridge. She explains, "Strawberries are the most loved seasonal ingredient by all the chefs and Goa is the land of fresh coastal ingredients, a blend of both is the idea behind the dish. Fresh coconut milk with strawberries sourced from the organic farm of Mahabaleshwar are the two key ingredients for this dish." Being a chef, she says, providing nourishing food with aided health advantages is the key and that's why she chose to add ashwagandha powder.

Ingredients:
Rolled oats 2 cups
Fresh coconut milk 4 cups
Natural honey 1 tbsp
Strawberry, chopped 1 cup
Ashwagandha powder 1 tsp
Dry ginger 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon 1 tsp

Method:
1. First blend all dry ingredients together, in a glass clip jar pour the coconut milk, then blend all dry ingredients topped with chopped strawberries.
2. Put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, dig in with a spoon.