Things to do with wild strawberries: Wild Strawberries and Cream

In every person's life there comes a time when they've got almost 1,5 kilograms freshly picked wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca, see a gorgeous photo by a talented Estonian photographer here) at hand. I'm no different. It happened to me in 2006, in 2007, and again about a fortnight ago. K. and I spent just under 2 hours on our secret wild strawberry field, we barely covered a plot larger than a large kitchen, and we had a 3 litre jar of wild strawberries between us. What can you do??!

Well, one of the easiest things to do (and one of my favourite childhood memories) is following. I've given a 'recipe' below, but you really do not need one. It's healthy, summery, quick, and oh-so-very Estonian (unless you pick 'smultron' in Sweden, or 'ahomansikkoita' in Finland, or 'Walderdbeere' in Germany, or 'fraises des bois' in France, and so on, in which case this dessert would be very Swedish or Finnish or German or French, and so on, of course.)

PS It is especially nice when done with wild strawberries that you've picked yourself. But if that's tricky, then use the ones from a friendly market vendor instead..



Wild strawberries with milk or cream
(Metsmaasikad rõõsa koore või piimaga)
Serves 1

half a cup of wild strawberries
half a cup of single cream or whole milk
2 to 3 tsp sugar

Place the wild strawberries into a glass and sprinkle with sugar. Crush slightly with a wooden spoon.
Pour over milk or cream and eat with a small spoon, stirring as you go.

Eton Mess Recipe

Suddenly, in the midst of summer (when all sane people should be relaxing either on the beach or at their summer cottage on the countryside), I'm too busy to even blog properly. I'd love to tell you all about my trip to the USA (in May/June!), our fabulous meal at El Bulli (in April!!) or about those 1,5 kilos of wild strawberries we picked and turned into jam (last weekend). But not yet..

However.. Tonight we had some very dear friends visiting from Sweden. Eva and Arne are a couple in their early 70s, and we have known each other since 1990. Every few years they take their small motorboat to Estonia to visit my parents and the country they've come to love. As we hadn't seen for a few years, I invited them, my parents and my sister's family over for dinner tonight. I needed a quick and non-elaborate dessert idea, and as strawberries are still very much in season here, I decided to make Eton Mess.

I know you don't need a recipe, but just in case you do, here it is :)

Eton Mess
(Eton Mess e. inglise maasikadessert beseeküpsistega)
Serves 4, can be easily doubled

200 ml whipping cream
1 Tbsp sugar
250 grams strawberries
50 grams small meringue cookies
fresh mint, to garnish

Whip the cream and sugar until soft peaks form.
Clean the strawberries and cut into smaller pieces, if necessary.
Layer strawberries, meringues and whipped cream into a large serving bowl or into individual glasses.
Garnish with chopped fresh mint and serve.

Strawberries and Brie and a Little Bit of Mint

That's all you need for a sweet summer mouthful (plus it's a dessert and cheese course in one). I used Finnish Valio Brie - my current favourite.

Eestikeelne 'retsept' siin.