Strawberry 2: strawberry and chilli nectar

British strawberries just encapsulate summer. Gently cooking fresh strawberries with dried hibiscus flowers, a little chilli and fructose sugar in a sealed bowl over hot water brings out and captures the very essence of summer. Keep the nectar in the fridge or even the freezer and serve ice cold in shot glasses or topped up with prosecco or champagne for a kir style cocktail.

Serves 6

Ingredients
600g/1lb 5oz strawberries, hulled and quartered
30g/1oz fructose sugar
1 red chilli, halved, seeds removed, finely chopped
5g/1/8th oz dried hibiscus flowers

Method
Add the strawberries, sugar, chilli and hibiscus flowers to a large bowl, cover the top tightly with clingfilm then place the bowl over the top of a medium sized saucepan of gently simmering water. Cook gently for 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool then chill well. Line a sieve with muslin and set over a bowl, add the strawberry mix, tie with string then suspend above the bowl to drain slowly. Pour the nectar into a bottle and chill until ready to serve.

Cook’s tip
If you haven’t bought fructose sugar before it is sold in small cardboard packs in the supermarket alongside the sugar and sweeteners. It is a low GI sugar and sweeter than ordinary caster sugar, but don’t confuse it with a sugar substitute or sweetener