I grew up of course with very rigid jam making rules and chasing the holy grail of a “perfect set” jam every time. And certainly a solid “set” jam has it’s advantages not sliding off that carefully buttered slice of toast. Now I like to “follow the fruit” and let it gel the way it wants, just naturally and according to how much pectin it contains.
This makes for more soft set dribbly jams – in the style of Turkish or Transilvanian jam making – but retains the true flavour of the fruit far better.
Being somewhere between a classic jam and a “compote” they lend themselves to all manner of culinary uses and are perhaps more suited to how we eat today? Use them to dribble over granola and yoghurt , over plainer cakes and best of all…spoon over porridge!
And the best thing of all? It is far far easier to make this kind of jam and makes for a relaxed jam making session without frantic setting tests and jam thermometers and all that paraphernalia.
Strawberry jam is a capricious affair and belies the inviting simplicity of the fruit. It is notoriously adverse to setting, is easily over boiled and loves to reward you with a growth of mould- yet somehow when those first strawberries appear it is just too hard to resist the urge!
This version creates a soft set high fruit conserve which captures the fresh tart tastes of the fruit and has passion fruit “pop” too. I like to dribble it over ice creams, yoghurt and museli combos or old school butter and croissants.
To create the recipe I took a leaf out of the jam-making doyenne Christine Ferber’s book “Mes Confitures” (her “Strawberry with Passionfruit”) for the strawberry/passion fruit balance and tinkered with fruit sugar and lemon boiling liquid for help with setting and general brightness.
As always with jams, make in small quantities to ensure a good clear bright jam and use top quality fruit – here these were Greek strawberries…almost “local” and I ate a few to check their texture and taste.
Celebrate the arrival of Spring Asparagus and spinach with this herby frittata – Asparagus, eggs and spinach are classic food partners and here they meet in a cosy combination that I love as a warm dish served with salad or shoved between crusty bread slices for a hearty sandwich. The filling is generously filled with fresh herbs and sour cream and can be made in a non stick frying pan or baked (as here) in a flan tin.
Ingredients 4-6 servings, 20-22cm pan
Half a bunch of asparagus (8-10 spears), each spear cut in half
4 large eggs
200g sour cream 20% or thick Greek yoghurt
50g baby spinach leaves
100g grated Emmental
1 bunch spring onions – white parts and green tails separately chopped
Half a bunch of parsley – finely chopped
1/4 bunch dill – finely chopped
some olive oil for frying the asparagus stalks
2 TBSP cornflour or potato flour
salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg
How To
“Snap” the Asparagus spears at their lower end. Discard anything below this area as it will be “woody”. Look at your tin and calculate the length of the spear tips you need to arrange, all pointing inwards. Chop at that point and set aside the tips. The remaining stalk arts chop finely in discs
Gently fry the asparagus stalk rounds and the whites of the spring onions until softened
Place the Baby Spinach leaves into the tin
Pour over the softened asparagus stalks and onions with any resdual oil, which will wilt the spinach a little bit
Make the egg filling mix:
Combine in a bowl the eggs, sour cream, cornflour, grated cheese , chooped herbs and green spring onion tails. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg.
Carefully spoon the mixture into the case/tin/frying pan – the mixture should almost be level with the rim. If it is not you may want to add another egg and stir it in especially if the eggs were a little small.
Arrange the asparagus tips on top as artistically as possible. Press them down so they are coated a little in the egg mixture and are a part of the frittata not merely perched on top.
Bake at 180C until the centre puffs up and is pleasantly browned – at which point the frittata is done- approx 30-40 minutes depending on how fierce your oven is.
In a frying pan – place the asparagus tips on the base of the pan with a little olive oil and gently spoon the mixture over. Fry gently, very gently for 15-20 minutes or so until the frittata is almost done on top. Place a very large plate over the pan. Invert it and slide the frittata back into the pan. (I use a thick tea towel to protect myself when doing this)
