Published on June 24, 2021
Celebrating strawberry season With a sensational recipe
Nothing says summer quite like a strawberry, and with Wimbledon kicking off on June 28th, we asked Chef Patron Mark Birchall to share a delicious recipe.
Nothing says summer quite like a strawberry, and with Wimbledon kicking off on June 28th, we asked Chef Patron Mark Birchall to share a delicious recipe to best celebrate these little bursts of sunshine à la Moor Hall…
Mark Birchall's strawberries, kernel mousse, almond and lemon verbena ice tea. Serves four.
Ingredients
300g strawberries
100g sugar
¼ lime juice
For the apricot kernel mousse:
- 12g apricot kernel oil
- 225g milk
- 150g egg yolk
- 80g caster sugar
- 150g honey
- 3 gelatine leaves
- 650g whipping cream
For the pumpkin seed crumb: - 65g butter
- 50g sugar
- 50g demerara sugar
- 50g plain flour
- 50g ground almonds
- 25g oats
- 15g chopped pumpkin seeds
For the tea granita: - 30g lemon verbena
- 160g sugar
- 700g water
- 1 whole lemon juice
- 8 x Darjeeling tea bags
Method
For the apricot kernel mousse:
- Heat the milk up in a pan to just under boiling. Remove from the heat and add the kernel oil
- To make the anglaise, strain the hot milk through a sieve into a saucepan then add the egg yolk, sugar and honey and cook on a low heat to 75°c or until the mixture thickens and leaves a clear path on the back of a spoon when a finger is drawn across (will take around 5 minutes, do not boil and stir constantly)
- Whilst cooking the anglaise put the gelatine leaves in a bowl with cold water to bloom
- Once cooked remove from the heat, drain the gelatine leaves and mix well with the anglaise. Put the mixture in a bowl and chill in the fridge
- Whisk the cream to soft peaks
- Fold one third of the whipped cream into the anglaise. Then add the rest of the cream making sure you don't overmix
- Chill the mousse until serving (at least 2 hours)
For the pumpkin seed crumb: - Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl
- Mix until all comes together into a ball
- Crumble the mixture onto a greaseproof lined baking tray so you have little clusters of crumble
- Bake at 160°c for 20 minutes or until golden brown
To make the tea granita: - Boil the water then add lemon, sugar, verbena and Darjeeling tea
- Infuse for 4 minutes then pass through a sieve
- Allow to cool, place into a 1 litre container and freeze. You will need to do this 6 hours before you make the dish
To macerate the strawberries: - Remove the green from the strawberries then slice into quarters half
- Put them in a large bowl and add the sugar and lime juice
- Gently roll the strawberries over with a spoon. Do this 10 minutes before serving the dish to allow the sugar to soften and sweeten the strawberries
To serve
- Start with a large dessert spoon of the kernel mousse in the middle of the plate
- Arrange the macerated strawberries around the front of the mousse
- Add the crumble mixture to the top of the mousse
- Then get a fork and scrape the top of the granita so it creates crushed ice
- Add a heaped tablespoon to the top of the dish just before serving
- Garnish with lemon verbena leaves
Further Reading
Lancashire is a land of abundance. Our gardens teem with fruit and vegetables and flowers and herbs. In season here you might eat peas straight out of the pod, so fresh all they need is a touch of salt and nasturtium oil. What we don’t grow we seek out from the amazing produce tended and nurtured by local farmers and artisans.
On site we’re also busy with charcuterie, bread-making and our own micro-dairy. There’s always something interesting to explore or a discovery to be made. And we like to share what we find.
We are delighted to share that Moor Hall has been named the No. 5 restaurant in the UK at the National Restaurant Awards 2026.
Mark joins the panel for the prestigious Roux Scholarship
Moor Hall retains 3 MICHELIN Stars and The Barn retains One MICHELIN Star.
Mark Birchall joins the judging panel.
Moor Hall and The Barn make the Squaremeal Top 100.
An exclusive dining experience in Atelier Hearth at Moor Hall.
Moor Hall has been voted the No. 1 restaurant in the UK in the prestigious Harden’s Top 100 Best UK Restaurants annual diners’ poll.
Sundays deserve more time.
More stillness. More space. More moments that feel like they belong entirely to you.
We are delighted to share that Moor Hall has been awarded Two MICHELIN Keys in the new MICHELIN Guide Hotel Selection.
