2021 JPF grant recipient New England Culinary Arts Training (NECAT), offers a Re-Entry Culinary Job Training Program for incarcerated individuals just prior to their release, helping set those individuals up for a smoother, more stable re-entry into the community. Like all NECAT training programs, the Re-Entry Program provides the technical, professional, and life skills necessary to secure career-ladder jobs in the culinary industry.
Ingredients
Strawberries
- 1 quart ripe strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Shortcakes
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ⅔ cup cold half and half or light cream
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or demerara sugar
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream, Chantilly cream, or crème fraîche
Method
- Mix the strawberries, sugar, and vanilla together. Depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, add the lemon juice to taste. Set aside to macerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Sir in the sugar.
- Using a pastry blender or two butter knives, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture has the texture of a coarse meal with pea-sized pieces of butter. Stir in the half and half and mix gently using a fork. When the mixture starts to come together, but still looks shaggy, turn it out onto the work surface or a very lightly floured board or parchment paper.
- Gently push the dough together to incorporate any stray pieces/crumbs. Pieces of butter and striations should still be visible in the dough, but the dough should come together into a disc. Using a rolling pin, dusted lightly with flour to keep from sticking, gently press the dough to begin to flatten, then roll until the dough is 1-inch thick.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut six 2 ½-inch rounds. If you don’t get all 6 cakes out of the first roll, gently push the dough back together and roll again. Set the cakes on the lined baking sheet. Lightly brush each cake with melted butter and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake the cakes until they have risen, are golden brown around the edges, and no longer doughy in the center, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool until they are just cool enough to handle, still warm to the touch.
- Split the cakes and set the bottoms on six plates. Spoon the strawberries and syrup over before adding a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle with a little more of the strawberry syrup and place the shortcake tops over the ice cream and serve.
Chantilly cream is sweetened whipped cream flavored with vanilla.
Strawberries are the first fruits of summer I remember in my grandmother’s garden. Their bright red color makes them perfect for Juneteenth celebrations. Strawberry Shortcake is a beloved summertime classic. My version, with cornmeal enriched shortcakes, adds another layer of summer sunshine and heritage flavor. Fresh, ripe cherries, blueberries, or peaches can be substituted as they come into season.