What Fruit’s in Season in October?

Grapefruit

Lemon

Mango

Orange

Papaya

Pineapple

Rhubarb

Strawberries

This and That Dessert

As you can see, the list is short. October is obviously a transition month for fruit. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. The winter citrus are starting to wane in quantity and quality and the summer fruits are not quite at their best. The recipe below reflects this transition perfectly.

I noticed the strawberries at my local greengrocers over the weekend. I couldn’t help it since they were absolutely huge. Growth hormones? Fantastic growing conditions? I really don’t know, but they certainly got my attention.

I’m never convinced about the flavour of strawberries, even when they are big and red, so I often combine them with sugar and lemon - a classic combination. Need I say that the strawberry sauce is great with ice cream and the lemon curd can be made into little curd tarts if you so desire.

Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 punnets of strawberries - washed, dried and stemmed
• 3T castor sugar
• 1-2T lemon juice
• 2t kirsch (optional)

Method

1. Puree all ingredients until smooth. Strain if desired. Chill

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks
• 3 whole eggs
• 3/4c castor sugar
• Zest of 3 lemons
• Zest of 3 limes
• 1/2c lemon juice
• 1/2c lime juice

Method

1. In a big stainless steel bowl whisk all the ingredients together
2. Set bowl over a large pan of simmering water - don’t have the water touching the bottom of the bowl
3. Whisk vigorously - you want air in it
4. Cook until the ‘foam’ disappears and the mixture gets thick (like mayonnaise) - up to 10 minutes
5. Remove from heat
6. Chill

To serve

Pour a little strawberry sauce onto each plate, top with some lemon curd and scatter sliced strawberries over the top.  I ‘marinate’ mine in castor sugar for about 1/2 hour beforehand.

Place a couple of lemon shortbreads on the side.

Serves 6-8.

Curd recipe comes from Desserts by Nancy Silverton.

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