Strawberry and Campari Paletas from Sweeter off the Vine

It's popsicle week, y'all! Billy from Wit and Vinegar arranges this annual frozen treat fun-fest and I am so happy to play along this year with one of my favorite warm weather recipes from Sweeter off the Vine!

I have been seriously obsessed with strawberries this Spring. I'm not sure if they are better this year than they have been in the past or what, but I straight-up cannot resist them every time I hit the market. Aside from eating them by the handful, I have been making all sorts of strawberry tarts, shortcakes, and frozen treats like these paletas. They are perfectly bitter-sweet, and perfectly cooling on a hot summer day. You can even turn them into a cocktail of sorts by dipping the pops in a glass of super-chilled prosecco or rose. Love.

See more popsicle week fun here.

Strawberry and Campari Paletas

makes 6-10, depending on the size of your molds

from Sweeter off the Vine

Paletas are ice pops made from fresh fruit; this version combines sweet strawberries and bitter, herbaceous Campari for a grown- up frozen treat. Be careful not to get too carried away with the Campari—too much booze and these pops won’t freeze. For a refreshing cocktail, try serving the paletas dipped in a glass of Prosecco: trust me, it’s delicious.

1 pound (450g) strawberries

5 tablespoons (60g) sugar

1/4 cup (60ml) Campari

juice of 1/2 lemon, about 4 teaspoons

pinch salt

Hull the strawberries and slice them in half. Add them, along with the rest of the ingredients, to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the level of sweetness if necessary by adding more sugar, one teaspoon at time. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and pour into frozen pop molds. Freeze the pops until completely firm, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

Every year I cross my fingers and hope there are local strawberries for my birthday, which usually falls on Memorial Day weekend. So when the strawberries showed up at the Greenmarket right on time this year, I wanted to make something super special. I turned to a recipe that I have had dog-eared for over a year - Amy Chaplin's Strawberry Vanilla  Custard Tart from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen.

I haven't made a ton of creamy vegan tarts like this one, and it was a super fun little project that made good use of the first gorgeous local berries. The oat, barley, and spelt crust comes together quickly in a food processor and is patted in the pan, then while the crust cools, the filling is briefly cooked on the stovetop before being chilled and topped with a big 'ol pile of  fresh strawberries - it's a perfect Springy treat. In the photo from the book, Amy's tart is covered with the tiniest  tristar strawberries. Tristars are my absolute favorite too, but they don't show up at the market until later in the summer here in NY. This doesn't really need to be said, but use the tastiest, cutest berries you can find here.

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EVENT ALERT! I'll be at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, June 18th with the folks from Food Book Fair, signing copies of Sweeter off the Vine and handing out treat samples. Come say hi!

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Vegan Strawberry Vanilla Custard Tart

from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

makes one 8 or 9-inch tart

This tart was originally made with a glaze that the strawberries are tossed in before arranging them on the tart, but I skipped it in favor of sliced strawberries tossed with the tiniest bit of honey. Also, Amy suggests using a high speed blender to mix the filling, but I used my food processor which worked fine. I just made sure to soak the nuts the full 6 hours and gave them a good long mix to ensure the mixture was as smooth as possible. I also used honey from my friends at Old Blue Raw Honey instead of the maple and brown rice syrups the recipe originally called for, which I know isn't strictly vegan so choose your own adventure there.

Crust

3/4 cup rolled oats

3 tablespoons barley flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup spelt flour

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil

3 tablespoons maple syrup (I used honey)

Filling

3/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked 2-6 hours in 2 cups water

1 vanilla bean, split

1/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used 3 tablespoons honey)

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used 2 tablespoons honey)

2 teaspoons agar flakes

pinch sea salt

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

Topping

2 pints strawberries, washed, sliced, and lightly sweetened

Make the Crust

Preheat oven to 350ºF and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of an 8 or 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the sides.

Add the oats, barley flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor; blend until the oats are ground. Mix the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla together. Pulse in the spelt flour and salt, then with the processor running, drizzle in the coconut oil mixture and mix until the flour is moistened.

Press the crust onto the bottom and sides of the prepared pan, about 1 1/4-inches up the sides.

Bake the crust for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside while you make the filling.

Make the Filling

Drain macadamias and place in a blender along with the 2 cups water. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes.

Add the macadamia milk to a medium saucepan along with the vanilla bean seeds, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, agar, and salt. Whisk until the mixture comes to a simmer. Then loosely cover and simmer for 15 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes or so.

In a small bowl combine the arrowroot with 2 teaspoons of water then whisk it into the simmering custard. Remove the mixture from the heat then let it cool for 10 minutes. Whisk to smooth, then pour into the prepared crust. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes on the counter (until it stops steaming), then chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Just before serving unmold the tart then top it with a pile of lightly sweetened, sliced strawberries. Enjoy immediately.