Field to Feast: Strawberry Strut & Strawberry Shortcake
In this month's Field to Feast, TWILA’s Jennifer Finley takes Commander's Palace Executive Chef Tory McPhail to the strawberry capital of the world, to pick berries and make cocktails at William Fletcher's farm in Ponchatoula. Then, Jennifer will also take you to Ryan Elementary School in Baton Rouge to show how Charlie’s Cart is teaching children where their food comes from, and what they can make strawberry shortcakes with local ingredients.
Meet Louisiana Farmer, William Fletcher
William Fletcher is a ninth-generation strawberry farmer from Ponchatoula, Louisiana. You can find William selling his strawberries and other crops at the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, as well as his roadside stands in Covington and Slidell.
Strawberry Strut
Ingredients:
3 oz. Old Tom Gin
3 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
6 Strawberries
3 basil leaves
3 mint leaves
1 lemon, juiced
Prosecco to finish
Directions:
Begin smashing basil and mint leaves in drink mixer to bruise the leaves.
Add the strawberries one by one into your glass and smash with muddler.
Add Old Tom Gin, lemon juice and liquor into mixing glass. For non-alcoholic option, add strawberry juice or jam.
Start hand mixing ingredients. Once your drink is mixed, pour into serving glass and top with prosecco. For non-alcoholic, add sparkling soda instead of prosecco.
Garnish rim with a fresh strawberry.
Louisiana Strawberry Shortcakes
The Charlie Cart Way. Serves 10 shortcakes.
“Students work collaboratively with their table group to prepare strawberry shortcake. This lesson focuses on local ingredients which will be measured with different tools (liquid cups, dry cups, fractional teaspoons). While they cook, they will learn about Louisiana strawberry production, a Louisiana dairy, the Red Stick Farmer’s Market, and a whole lot of cooking math!
Ingredients
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 teaspoons granulated Louisiana sugar (divided use)
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 basket Louisiana strawberries
3 or 4 sprigs fresh mint
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine 3/4 cup flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl and toss together with a fork to mix well.
Cut the butter into small pieces and work into the flour with a fork until the butter is the size of small peas, coated completely with the flour.
Add the heavy cream. Stir the mixture with the fork until it just comes together, not overworking it. Gather into a ball and divide in half.
Dust the work surface very lightly with flour. Dust hands and rolling pin with flour. Roll each piece of dough into a round 1/3” thick. Cut each round into 5 equal wedges.
Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 12 to 17 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
While the shortcakes are baking: remove the stems from the strawberries and discard to the compost. Chop the strawberries into small dice (in the classroom, students cut the berries safely with a ‘pan scraper’ kitchen tool).
Pull 2 or 3 mint leaves from the stems and finely chop. Place in a mortal and pestle with a pinch of sugar. Grind a few times until the sugar is dissolved into the mint.
To serve: top shortcakes with a spoonful of strawberries and a sprinkle of mint sugar. Garnish with a small mint leaf.
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Visit Fletcher Farms’ website and like them on Facebook