Sumac-kissed strawberries
6
Preparation time 1 hour
Cooking time 20 mins
Ingredients
1Kg Greek-style yoghurt
140g icing sugar
150ml double cream
lemon: finely grate the zest to get I tsp, then juice to get 2 tbsp
700g ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in half lengthways
1½ tbsp sumac
I vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped
salt
Instructions
Put the yoghurt into a bowl and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix, then transfer to a sieve lined with a muslin (or a clean cheese-cloth) and set over a bowl. Tie the cloth into a bundle with string, weight this down with a heavy bowl (or small cast iron pan) and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid out as possible, until you are left with about 550g of thickened yoghurt. Remove from the cloth - discarding any liquid - and transfer to a bowl. Stir in half the icing sugar, cream and lemon zest and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Combine the strawberries with sumac, vanilla pod and seeds, lemon juice, the remaining icing sugar, and 80ml of water. Gently toss until well coated, then transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish, ideally measuring about 30 x 20cm.
Let the magic happen in the oven for 20 minutes, remembering to toss the strawberries once halfway through. Keep a close eye until they become soft and start bubbling with goodness. Allow this to cool to room temperature, then discart the vanilla pod.
To serve, spoon the rippled cream into bowls and spoon over the strawberries. Pour over the juices.