When I was growing up in the tiny coastal townland of Cashel in Connemara, my mother had terrible difficulty with our sweet tooths.
She would ring Nan, who ran the local shop, every now and again to tell her not to sell us any sweets. We would be barred for a while until we charmed our way back in, and on a hot summer’s day we might sweet talk Nan into selling us ice cream. Among our favourites were the Icebergers and Brunches, or little orange ice pops if we were being economical with our pocket money.
My all-time favourite lolly, however, was the HB Funny Feet — the dreamiest, pillow-like strawberry ice cream, presented in the most novel of all shapes: a cartoonish human foot. It has been relaunched since but it is not the same. And although I still crave the original Funny Feet today, it most likely wasn’t even half as nice then as it is in my memories.
The ice lolly I remember had such a light texture that I think it must have stemmed from semifreddo, the semi-frozen Italian dessert made using eggs, sugar and cream.
I have invented my own strawberry semifreddo, and it is a homage to the Funny Feet of my youth. I’ve added a hint of cardamom as it goes so well with strawberry and makes the ice cream feel a little more grown-up. I have served it here as an ice cream sandwich because, strangely enough, I don’t have a foot-shaped mould . . . yet.
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There’s another summery treat here, on the icier side. This recipe for gooseberry granita — if granita even needs a recipe — is super-simple. Gooseberries are one of the most underused summer berries and at this stage of the season they are so ripe they are almost sweet, but still have a delicious tang.
Green Gooseberry Granita
Serves 6
What you will need
1kg/2lb 3oz gooseberries
250g/9oz sugar
500ml/18 fl oz water
How to prepare
Wash the gooseberries. There is no need to top and tail them as they will be strained after cooking. Place them in a large pan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil and simmer, until they are soft enough to squash. Use a potato masher to pulp the fruit and then pass it through a fine sieve, pressing as much flesh through as possible.
As all berries vary in sweetness, taste the liquid. It should be just a little too sweet (it will taste less sweet when frozen). If you feel it needs a touch more sugar, add it now, then allow to cool.
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Once cooled, place in a flat tray that will fit in your freezer, and freeze until solid. To serve, scrape with a fork and divide between six glasses.
“Funny Feet” strawberry and cardamom semifreddo sandwich
Serves 6-8
What you will need
250g/9oz strawberries,hulled
½ lemon, juiced
5 green cardamom pods
240ml/9 fl oz cream
2 egg whites
110g/4oz caster sugar
50ml/2 fl oz water
Sugar thermometer
1-2 packs of flat wafers (12 per pack)
How to prepare
Oil a bread tin measuring 24cm by 11cm and line it with baking parchment. Place the strawberries and lemon juice in a food processor, and blitz until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
Crush the cardamom pods and grind the seeds inside to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Whip the cream to soft peaks and refrigerate until needed.
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Place the egg whites in a bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on but wait for the next step before turning it on.
Meanwhile, place the sugar, cardamom and water in a small saucepan over a medium-heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Now, turn the mixer on at a low speed. Simmer the sugar mixture on a higher heat without stirring, until it reaches 115C on the sugar thermometer.
Turn the mixer up to full speed until the egg whites reach soft peaks, then turn down to a medium speed. Add the sugar mixture in a very slow trickle until it is all incorporated. Keep whipping the eggs for a further 5 minutes, or until the mixture is cool.
Remove from the mixer stand and gently fold in the whipped cream and strawberry mixture.
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Transfer the mixture to the lined bread tin, cover with clingfilm and freeze until solid, or about 6-8 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.
To serve, slice into 6-8 thick slices sandwiched between wafers.
A cook’s library
Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking by Jessica Koslow (€30.79, easons.com)
Jessica Koslow is the chef-patron of Sqirl, a daytime restaurant in an out-of-the-way spot in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.
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Sqirl started as a small jam-making business in the same neighbourhood. Within a year it had expanded into the Sqirl cafe, where Koslow served brioche toasts with her preserves and rice or grain bowls for a savoury option.
Her little empire grew quickly and now there’s a queue outside Sqirl by 8am, with people eager to secure a seat at the funky Californian spot. The restaurant closes at 4pm so it focuses on breakfast and lunch.
Lynda Obst, a producer on films such as The Fisher King and Flashdance, and a regular at Sqirl, wrote the introduction to the book. She says it reminds her of a line in the Arlo Guthrie song Alice’s Restaurant: “You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.”
At Sqirl, vegans and meat lovers sit side by side with their respective needs perfectly catered for.
The book runs along these lines with superb vegan and vegetarian recipes — in which the carnivore would not feel like they were missing anything — and dishes using home-cured bacon and unexpected curiosities such as rabbit ballotine.
It is a hip, visually stimulating coffee-table book with amazing pop-art photography peppering the pages — an ideal gift for kitchen hipsters.
The recipe featured below calls for fermented jalapeño hot sauce, which you can find in the brilliant Picado Mexican store on Dublin’s Richmond Street or online from picadomexican.com.
Sorrel pesto rice bowl
Serves 6
What you will need
600g/1lb 5oz medium-grain brown rice
180ml/6 fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
25g/1oz kale leaves, stems removed
50g/2oz sorrel leaves, chopped
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, plus more for serving
1 preserved lemon, flesh removed and peel finely chopped
2-4 small watermelon/red meat radishes, thinly sliced
60ml/2 fl oz fermented jalapeño hot sauce
85g/3oz crumbled sheep’s feta
6 poached eggs
Fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper
How to prepare
Boil the rice in plenty of salted water for 30-45 minutes until tender. Drain and let cool.
Meanwhile, make the sorrel pesto. In a blender, combine 120ml/4 fl oz of the olive oil with the kale and sorrel leaves, and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Season with salt to taste.
In a large bowl, toss the rice with the dill, preserved lemon peel, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the pesto. Taste and add a bit more salt, if needed. In a small bowl, toss the radish with the remaining lemon juice and olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Set aside to marinate for a few minutes, until the radish is pliable and tender.
To serve, divide the rice among six bowls. Spoon a line of hot sauce across the rice. Arrange a little clump of feta on one side and a rosette of radish slices on the other side. Set a poached egg in the middle of each bowl, and season it with fleur de sel and black pepper. Garnish with a tiny sprig or two of dill.
Think of this rice bowl as a solid base for you to build upon. Don’t like poached eggs? Leave them out. Make it a meat lover’s option by adding bacon and sausage.