Who could resist this quick and easy recipe for strawberry jam? We are coming in to the best time of year for strawberries and if you have too many, this is a great way to use them up. Jam freezes well for up to eight months, you will just need to keep it in the fridge once it has defrosted. Note that the jam might go cloudy after freezing, but once it has thawed just give it a good stir and it will become clear again.

We get our strawberries from Pat Clarke in Stamullen, a great producer of soft fruit. I always look forward to catching up with him at Bloom. It is one of my favourite events of the year and I will be doing demos at the Bord Bia Quality Kitchen, so do pay us a visit.

Strawberry and mint salsa is a simple, light and tasty dessert. Balsamic vinegar brings out the natural flavour of the strawberries and the fraise liqueur gives the dessert an extra kick. If you can’t find fraise liqueur, use Cointreau or Grand Marnier for equally good results. I particularly like to serve this with shortbread.

Happy cooking.

No-cook strawberry jam

Makes about eight x 250ml (9fl oz) jars

  • 850g (1lb 14oz) of caster sugar
  • 2kg (4½lb) of firm ripe strawberries
  • 1 sachet of pectin crystals or ½ a bottle of liquid pectin
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 Preheat the oven to 140°C (275°F, gas mark one). Tip the sugar into a shallow, ovenproof dish and warm it in the oven for 10 minutes.

    2 Meanwhile, hull the strawberries and crush in a large bowl with a potato masher or a fork. Stir in the warm sugar and then set them aside for four hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.

    3 After four hours, mix the pectin into the strawberry mixture and then stir in the lemon juice. Ladle the jam into six 250ml (9fl oz) sterilised jam jars or freezer-proof containers. Cover loosely with cling film and leave at room temperature for about three hours, then check to see if the mixture is setting. If it still appears quite runny, tip the pots back into the bowl and add another tablespoon of lemon juice, then repeat the process with the jars or containers.

    4 Once the jam has reached a soft set, leave it for 24 hours at room temperature, by which time the mixture should be nice and firm. Cover tightly with lids and freeze until required (see introduction).

    Strawberry & mint salsa

    Serves four

  • 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp of fraise (strawberry) liqueur
  • 1 tbsp of dark muscovado sugar
  • 450g (1lb) of strawberries, hulled and cut into equal-sized pieces
  • 20g (3/4oz) of fresh mint leaves
  • Vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt
  • 1 Heat the balsamic vinegar in a pan with the fraise liqueur. Add the sugar and simmer gently until it dissolves, stirring occasionally. Pour into a bowl and leave to cool.

    2 Once the balsamic mixture is at room temperature, tip in the strawberries. Chop one tablespoon of the mint, then fold the chopped and whole mint leaves into the mixture. Divide between small bowls and top each one with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of yoghurt to serve.