The strawberry tree is an evergreen shrub typical of the Mediterranean maquis. We find it along the coast of our sea and its scientific name is Arbutus unedo .
It belongs to the Erikaceae family and is known for the production of small spherical fruits with a very sweet taste . Also its flowers and its leaves are appreciated for medicinal use so much that this plant is used in herbal remedies of folk medicine since ancient times.
Its flowering occurs mainly in autumn with small white bell-shaped flowers that later turn into fruit.
The arbutus trees are yellow initially while at the end of maturation they take on a bright and intense red color . Inside the flesh is soft with the presence of small hard seeds, the taste is exquisitely sweet and since the peel is not there, the entire berry is eaten.
The strawberry trees are very delicate when they reach maturity and for this reason it is very difficult to find them for sale at the supermarket . In fact, the strawberry trees have become "forgotten fruits" precisely because of their easy perishability but at the expense of their nutritional value, their typicality and traditionality and also their exquisite taste .
To find strawberry trees, it is best to look in the local farmers' markets or, more simply, you can take a walk in the areas where they grow spontaneously. Once the arbutus fruit is obtained, you can prepare delicious recipes .
Let's get to know 3 recipes with arbutus.
Vegan strawberry tree tart
Ingredients
> 300 g of strawberry trees;
> 200 g of wholemeal flour;
> 100 g of cane sugar;
> 30 g of corn starch;
> 150 g of vanilla soy milk;
> 100 g of corn or rice oil;
> 1 ripe banana;
> 1 sachet of yeast.
Preparation
As with all recipes, it is best to start by mixing the solid ingredients in a bowl and mix the liquid ingredients in another container. Then we will put together the flour, the brown sugar, the corn starch and the yeast sachet .
Separately, in a plastic cylinder we will instead put the vegetable milk and the oil which will then be added to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Apart we will wash the strawberry trees and clean them well and then blend them together with the banana .
This fruit mixture will be added to the bowl to be evenly mixed together. At this point we can turn on the oven to heat it to 180 degrees and we will prepare a cake pan sprinkling the surface with a little oil and flour to prevent the tart from sticking during cooking.
Once the mixture has been poured into the pan, we will leave it to cook for about 30 minutes. Here the strawberry-tree tart is ready: sweet, light and really delicious .
Strawberry Focaccia
Ingredients
> 500 g of strawberry trees;
> 260 g of flour;
> 180 g of sugar;
> 40 olive oil;
> 150 ml of vegetable cream;
> 4 bananas;
> half a bag of yeast;
> a small glass of liqueur to macerate the strawberry trees.
Preparation
We wash the arbutus and put them to rest for 3 hours with 80 grams of sugar and a small glass of liqueur. In an oiled and floured mold, we put the strawberry trees drained from the liquid and place them on the bottom of the pan, crushing them and leveling them with a spoon .
In a bowl instead we prepare the dough by mixing first the dry ingredients and then the liquid ones . Bananas should be blended with oil and vegetable cream with an immersion blender. Moreover we will add the liquid of the maceration of the strawberry trees until the mixture will be quite homogeneous and soft.
Finally we will pour the mixture into the mold trying not to move the strawberry trees at the base of the mold. On the highest part we can decorate with some whole and beautiful ripe strawberry trees . We will then bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes and then lower the oven to finish cooking with a piece of baking paper over the mold to keep the arbutus cake soft .
Strawberry tree biscuits
Ingredients
> 80 g of flour;
> 80 g of spelled flour;
> 70 g of cane sugar;
> 60 ml corn oil;
> 1 banana;
> half a bag of yeast;
> a pinch of salt;
> moreover 70 g of strawberry-tree jam (300 g strawberry trees and 100 g cane sugar) are required.
Preparation
For this recipe we will start with the preparation of strawberry-tree jam which will start with the washing of the fruits. Later on, as for any jam, we will cook the strawberry corbe with sugar on a very low heat .
The procedure, however, consists of putting only the strawberry trees first to warm them, then removing them so as to pass them with a mill and finally return them to add them to the pan together with the sugar.
Since the jam will begin to boil, it will be enough to wait 5 or 10 minutes for it to be ready as a jam to use in a few days.
Instead for the biscuit dough we will start by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the oil and the blended banana. We will mix everything in a homogeneous way and leave it to rest in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least an hour.
Then we will prepare the biscuits either by hand or using molds. The important thing is to make a hollow in the upper part where we will put the jam at the end of cooking .
At this point the biscuits should be cooked at 180 degrees for 5 minutes and then removed from the oven, turned over and put back in the pan having added the strawberry jam in the hollows of the biscuits.
Approximately 5 or 8 minutes will be required to finish cooking. Once they have come out of the oven and let cool, the arbutus biscuits are ready.
