As we hit the height of summer our native fruits come into their own, the humble strawberry for example arguably the most eagerly anticipated crop of the year.

Our English strawberries have many uses, but here in my recipe for this month is something a little different for you to try, a chilled strawberry soup with an elderflower sorbet.

Strawberry Soup (Serves 4)

1. 1kg English Strawberries
2. 300gms Unrefined castor sugar
3. ½ Bottle Dessert Wine (i.e. Muscatel)

Cut the strawberries into small chunks, place them in to a metal or pyrex dish, sprinkle over sugar and cover with desert wine. Now mix ingredients together until the sugar is dispersed evenly throughout the mix, then cling film the dish and put somewhere warm i.e. airing cupboard or near a warm oven for 4/6 hours, then chill overnight in the fridge.

Elderflower Sorbet (Serves 8-10)

1. 100gms Icing Sugar
2. 100gms Liquid Glucose
3. 1 ltr Elderflower cordial (1 litre of water and enough cordial to taste)
4. Juice of one lemon

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and boil for 2 minutes and then place into a freezer proof container and freeze. Keep returning to the sorbet about once every hour to stir with a fork until completely frozen.

To serve place the cold soup into bowls, then top with a scoop of sorbet and enjoy on a hot summer afternoon. This soup dish is guaranteed to take the heat out of any summer’s day.