Strawberry Floating Islands
- 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
- Pinch of salt
- 1 13 cups granulated sugar
- 3 pints ripe strawberries, hulled
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until softly peaked.
- Add four tablespoons of the sugar and beat until stiff.
- Gradually add all but one-third cup of the sugar, beating constantly, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
- Heat a large pan of water until the steam rises from the top but before it has come to a simmer.
- Using two large tablespoons or an ice cream scoop, form large ovals or rounds of the egg white mixture and drop them into the water.
- Poach for two minutes, turn once and poach them another two minutes.
- Remove the meringues as they are done and drain them on absorbent paper.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- You may not be able to poach all the meringues at one time.
- Puree two pints of the strawberries and season the puree with the remaining sugar and the lemon juice.
- Add the cinnamon.
- Refrigerate the puree.
- Slice the remaining strawberries in half lengthwise and refrigerate.
- To serve, spoon the strawberry puree into a shallow serving bowl and float the meringues on top.
- Scatter the sliced strawberries around and over the meringues and serve.
egg whites, salt, sugar, pints, lemon, cinnamon
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4146 (may not work)