An artistic Eton Mess
Most people love strawberries, meringues and cream, but not me. I just don’t get on well with the cream, yet I love the idea and the ‘Englishness’ of the Mess. My version uses natural yoghurt with a little vanilla added, but you could use lightly whipped cream if you prefer. If you can get some wild strawberries, they make an excellent addition, while the balsamic, cress, thyme and pepper add a flavour punch, as well as being visually exciting.
Talking of which, my aim here was to make the whole thing to look like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Serves: 4 people
Cooking time: 1 hr (or 10 mins if you buy meringues)
Ingredients
2 punnets of strawberries, 1 halved, 1 puréed with a little sugar
100ml natural yoghurt, with a little vanilla extract added
4 fist-sized meringues, bought or home-made
A few thyme sprigs
1 small bunch of salad cress
A small bottle of balsamic syrup (or make your own by reducing 100ml of balsamic until you have a syrup)
2 tbsp olive oil
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Hull one punnet of strawberries and put in a blender with a pinch of sugar. Blitz until smooth and put in the fridge while you assemble the rest.
- Crush half the meringues and lightly break the other half. Scatter on a plate or board and add the strawberries. Give it a twist of pepper, and sprinkle over the thyme and cress. Spoon over the yoghurt and purée, then pour over the balsamic syrup and serve immediately.
How to food style it
- This one is great fun to do and is just like being back at school with some paints. A dark, rectangular surface really helps the reds and whites stand out; I used slate here.
- This is a question of balance on the plate, keep everything well defined by not piling it up or putting it too close together.
- Be really free and loose with the sauces, don’t be scared to make a mess and make bold, sweeping strokes with them.
The Modern Husband 
3 Responses to “An artistic Eton Mess”
Thanks Jessica. I love your blog, it looks amazing. I’m looking forward to exploring it more over the weekend.
Thanks for your kind words! 🙂
This is so awesomely artistic! I don’t love meringue but the other ingredients make this worth it!
If the idea was to make it look like Jackson Pollock then you succeeded. That was my thought when I say the photo..before I read the comment in your post! Love it.