A Scrumptious Summer Pudding - Eton Mess Dessert with a Twist! !

According to legend, a labrador sat on a picnic basket at the yearly prize giving event at the famous English school Eton and squashed the ingredients together! Eton Mess is still served annually at Eton's July 4th picnic and prize giving and is a firm favourite with us Brits as a summer treat.

Traditional Eton Mess by angusf, on Flickr

My Eton mess version is actually two different recipes put together, half a Weight Watchers recipe and half a Jamie Oliver Recipe. I substitute the cream for 0% Greek yogurt, I find Greek yogurt to be lighter and fluffier than cream, and less sickly. It is also thicker than ordinary natural yogurt, and cuts through the sweetness of the strawberries in a wonderful way. To set it apart from traditional Eton Mess, I use part of a Jamie Oliver recipe by grilling and marinating the strawberries with Pimms, stem ginger and vanilla seeds.

This dessert is meant to look a mess, it isn't an elegant dish! You get a gorgeous colourful combination of hot and cold, crunchy and smooth, spicy and sweet - that will leave your taste buds zinging for more!

500g (1.1lbs) of strawberries

This dessert is all about the freshness and sweetness of the strawberries! Buy strawberries that are grown close to where you live, they will be fresher than ones that have been flown thousands of miles to the store. Even better, grow your own!

Strawberries by Wouter Hagens, on Wikimedia

Two shots of Pimms

Pimms is a gin based spirit, flavoured with herbs and liqueurs. Pimms means summertime for us Brits, and it is served in a long glass with ice, lemonade, mint and summer fruits. It is delicious!

If you want to read more about the historic drink of Pimms - click here: Anyone for Pimms

Pimms by spin spin, on Flickr

One vanilla pod

The smell of a vanilla pod is so beautiful and goes very well with strawberries. They are expensive to buy, but worth every penny.

You will need the seeds from this pod which you remove by slicing the pod length ways and scraping the seeds out with a knife

Vanilla pod by H. Zell, on Wikimedia

Three stem ginger pieces

Sweet and spicy warm, stem ginger adds depth to this recipe and enhances the juicy sweetness of the strawberries.

Stem ginger comes in a jar with a sugar syrup. As well as the 3 ginger pieces, you will need 3 tablespoons of the syrup. If you don't like ginger you can leave it out, but this really does complete the dish!

Stem ginger by l1978w, on Flickr

Two medium meringues per bowl

I'm afraid I use shop bought meringues, because I am lazy.

Home made meringues would be much more delicious! Here is a simple recipe for making meringue shells: meringue recipe at Epicurious.com

Meringues by FotoosVanRobin, on Flickr

100g (4oz) of Greek yogurt per person

I use fat free 0% Greek yogurt, I like the way it cuts through the sweetness of the meringue. I find cream a bit too heavy, but you may prefer it.

Fromage Frais and Mascerpone are two other options to try. Whatever takes your fancy!

Greek Yoghurt by l1978w, on Flickr

Are you having a Queen's Jubilee Party to celebrate the Queen's 60 year reign on the throne? If so, this dessert is easy to make for lots of guests and is very British indeed!

Pre heat your grill to high. Chop up the stem ginger and place in a bowl, add three tablespoons of the stem ginger syrup.

Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds, add them to the bowl. Add two shots of Pimms to the bowl and mix the whole lot together.

Wash and hull the strawberries, cut them in half and place them on their bottoms in a snug fitting, shallow oven proof tin or dish.

Pour over the stem ginger and pimms mixture. Place the vanilla pod on the top.

Slide under the heated grill for 3-5 minutes, or until the strawberries begin to blacken and the mixture bubbles. After a few minutes, the vanilla pod will begin to burn, so take it out and throw it away.

Place a couple of scoops of Greek yoghurt per person into four bowls. Break up the meringues and stir into the greek yoghurt.

Add the grilled strawberry mixture, and garnish with a mint leaf! Serve up and enjoy! Alternatively you could just put it all into one large bowl, scatter mint leaves on the top and let everyone dig in and help themselves.

The Result! Eton Mess Dessert with Grilled Strawberries and Pimms!

From Jamie's recipe, I just did the grilling and marinating the strawberries bit. Jamie adds vanilla ice cream and crumbles up shortbread biscuits too, very naughty! Check out Jamie's recipe at the link below and take a look at his other recipes - they are great.

jamieoliver.com

Strawberry by Jeff Kubina, on Flickr