Seasonal vegetables and fruits in May with recipes – Strawberries, currants, and raspberries

Seasonal fruits and vegetables in May

Strawberries: Today's wild strawberry originates from East Asia, from where it spread to almost every continent after the ice age. This means that even prehistoric humans could have picked and known about it. Nevertheless, for a long time it was not cultivated on a large scale, but was used only as a medicinal plant. This is understandable, as it stimulates blood circulation, purifies the blood, promotes proper kidney and intestinal function, and enhances detoxification processes. In addition, it can be used for face masks, and the leaves can be used for teeth whitening.

Raspberries: Although nowadays most of us buy raspberries from the store, if you have the opportunity to pick raspberries, it's important to know that raspberry leaves also contain valuable nutrients. So apart from the fruit, it's worth picking the leaves as well, as you can make a delicious tea from them. Raspberry leaf tea is actually popular among expectant mothers during the last months of pregnancy, as it relaxes the muscles around the pelvis, which makes childbirth easier.

Currants: It's almost common knowledge that watermelon has a water content of roughly 90%, but fewer people know that currants also have a water content of close to 85%. Another surprising fact is that our country is one of the world's most important blackcurrant-producing nations. European cultivation of the fruit began in the Netherlands in the 16th century, while on the other side of the ocean in America, its cultivation was considered an almost forbidden activity for nearly a hundred years, because the fungus that settled on the plant posed a danger to certain pine species that were important to the timber-processing industry.

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Ten-minute strawberry curd dumplings

Ingredients:

• 50 dkg lean curd
• 2 tbsp Mascarpone
• 8 dkg coconut shavings
• 1 tsp honey
• 10 dkg breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp oil
• 20 dkg fresh strawberries
• 1/2 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
• 1 tbsp orange liqueur

Instructions:

1. Press the curd between the palms of your hands to remove excess moisture and make it easier to shape the dumplings.
2. Mix the pressed curd with mascarpone and coconut shavings, sweeten with a little honey or agave syrup. Refrigerate until ready to shape and serve.
3. Lightly toast the breadcrumbs and coconut shavings in a dry pan with just a little oil until fragrant.
4. Chop the strawberries and simmer them together with the scraped vanilla seeds and a splash of orange liqueur.
5. Shape the chilled curd mixture into small balls with wet hands, then roll in the coconut mixture. Finally, serve the dumplings with the strawberry-vanilla sauce.

Cream cheese tartlets

For the base:

• 10 dkg oat biscuits (or shortbread)
• 10 dkg almonds (ground)
• 5 dkg butter (melted)

For the filling:

• 40 dkg cream cheese
• 1 dl sour cream
• 7 dkg sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 medium lime (zest)
• juice from 1/2 lime

For decoration:

• 15 dkg raspberries (or other berries: strawberries, blackberries)

Instructions:

1. Line the muffin tray with paper liners.
2. Crumble the biscuits in a food processor. (If you don't have a food processor, place them in a plastic bag and crush with your hands.)
3. Place the ground almonds, melted butter, and biscuit crumbs in a bowl and mix. Fill each paper liner with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and press down firmly, then refrigerate.
4. For the filling, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, egg, and egg yolk. Add the vanilla extract, lime zest, and lime juice.
5. Spread the filling evenly over the base. Decorate with fruit.
6. Bake in a preheated oven, then cool and refrigerate.
7. Remove the cream cheese tartlets from the paper liners and serve decorated with fresh fruit.

Fruit-filled grilled tortilla with marshmallows

Ingredients:

• ½ sugar melon or honeydew melon
• 100 g currants
• 30 g milk chocolate
• 4 tortilla wraps
• 4 tbsp natural, creamy peanut butter
• 150 g BBQ Marshmallows

Instructions:

1. To prepare the fruit-filled grilled tortilla, first cut the melon into small cubes, then dry the currants.
2. Then chop the milk chocolate finely.
3. Spread a tortilla wrap generously with peanut butter, place a few marshmallows on top, and add a few teaspoons of melon cubes, currants, and chocolate.
4. Fold the tortilla wrap and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the grill temperature.
5. If necessary, brush the edges of the tortilla with a few drops of water, which will help it bend more easily and prevent it from cracking while folding.
6. Once nicely browned, remove from the grill, cut in half, and if desired, you can drizzle a little peanut butter on top and serve with a few currants.