A surprise twist on the classic ice lolly! | Nadiya's Summer Feasts - BBC

For Nadiya, summertime is party time, and is the perfect excuse to put her busy life on hold and pull out all the stops. In this glorious hour-long special, Nadiya cooks up an array of mouth-watering dishes that she serves up to her loved ones at her own summer party feast.

In search of inspiration for a refreshing dessert, Nadiya meets legendary cookery writer Claudia Roden and her family, who are putting a fresh spin on the classic ice-lolly.

Nadiya's Summer Feasts | Series 1 Episode 1 | BBC

We're trying out two brand-new strawberry-based recipes.
First up, an unusual take on the classic strawberries and cream.
Pop the strawberries in there? Yeah.
To get the most out of our fruit, we're bathing it in sugar and lemon.
And that's going to release all the juices. Yeah. OK.
It actually enhances the flavour.
For a little sharpness - kumquats.
For anyone who's never tasted a kumquat before...
Yeah. ..it's like a mix between a lemon and an orange.
It's very citrusy, really sharp. Yes, and it has, like,
a surprising quality, doesn't it?
When you're like, "Mm..."
This is the milk base -
milk, cornflour and sugar that's just been thickened.
To make this super rich,
we're adding an ingredient you wouldn't expect in a lolly -
ricotta cheese.
Kind of whisk it in, so that it's really well blended.
And fresh cream.
Then our magic ingredient to give this lolly it's summer bloom.
That is nice. The orange blossom, yeah.
You have to put...by the teaspoon... I knew you would come in
with the orange blossom.
Put a teaspoon to start with. I would put one and a half teaspoons.
Claudia said one. OK, that's probably enough.
Give that a little mix.
When you're working together in the kitchen and creating,
do you guys ever bicker? Yeah, but we have different ideas
about things. I mean, I think I like to heighten the flavour
until you can't heighten it any more. Nadia's much more creative
and I'm more traditional. No, you're very creative,
but you're more sensible, maybe, like, you know...
Your experience and everything.
Today, I'm the orange blossom umpire.
More.
I quite like it like this. Let's leave it like that,
because I'm known to overdo, seriously.
To go with our flowery kumquat ricotta cream mixture -
pureed strawberries.
To make a swirled effect, we're alternating
the two different mixtures.
So then I'll put a little bit more.
And then you put yours.
Fancy contraption. Very high-tech.
Into the moulds, and then into the freezer. Into the freezer.
That's it? That's it.
Our second lolly will be translucent.
The base is a sugar syrup, flavoured with hibiscus and tarragon.
I didn't put too much hibiscus in. Oh!
Tarragon's not too strong.
I like that.
I like that a lot.
We're suspending chopped strawberries all the way through.
Everything about this ice lolly is summer.
It couldn't be simpler - just cover the fruit with the syrup.
Done.
OK, so, sticks in, and then into the freezer.
While we're coming up with some new flavours, at their
West London factory, they're preparing for the summer rush.
Ice Kitchen works around the clock to produce 8,000 lollies a day,
to satisfy a growing demand,
and I'm hoping our new recipes will be good enough
to join the production line.
This should be the moment of truth.
Oh! Ooh. Aw, wow!
Yes, they look so good!
Look at that one.
First up, our gourmet twist on strawberries and cream,
with ricotta, kumquats, and orange blossom.
Topped off with melted chocolate and pistachios.
Toppings are a fun way to make any lolly extra special.
Oh, man.
I think the ricotta adds another dimension.
Yeah, but what do you think of the kumquat?
For me, I like it, because it just breaks it up. I love the kumquat.
Strawberries and cream, classic British summer flavours, tennis,
you know, that's what I think when I think strawberries and cream.
But this is such a good play on the classic.
Next up...
Ooh! Ooh, they look nice.
..our syrup-based strawberries with hibiscus and tarragon.
Oh, look at those. Lovely.
They look so good. OK, let's see. Wow.
So, yeah... Can you smell the tarragon straight away? Mm. Yeah.
Oh, good, good. That's a winner.
That's a winner. I think, with the tarragon...
Are you keeping it? Are you keeping this one?
It's going into the range. I think you should keep this one.
I think we should be eating ice lollies all year round.
Forget the summer, like, always, forever.
Yay. I agree. I agree.