Chantelle Nicholson's Vegan Recipe for Strawberries with Cashew Cream and Thai Basil Granita | The new vegan

I find strawberries and basil a rather irresistible combination, and I'm also a sucker for the contrast of a room temperature bowl of berries with an ice cold granita, perhaps with a dollop of something creamy to round things off. And that's where the inspiration for today's recipe comes from. The cashew cream and granita also keep for a good few weeks, so make extra and you'll have some on hand the next time a punnet of glowing strawberries catches your eye.

Strawberries in Cream cashew nuts and thai basil granita

I prefer to use thai basil in this granita, partly because I love its particular floral flavor, but if you can't find it, the European green basil will also do the trick.

Preparation 10 minCooking 25 minFreezing 4 hours+4 servings

135 g caster sugar1 small bunch of Thai basil (about 20 g)50ml Elderflower Cordial 250g Cashews ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. fennel seeds 1 x 400 g strawberries in a punnet Put 75 g caster sugar in a small saucepan with 75 ml cold water and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve. Remove from the heat, let cool a little, then put in the fridge to cool.

Prepare a handful of the smaller Thai basil leaves and put them in an airtight container in the fridge. Put the rest of the basil bunch, stems and all, into a blender along with the elderflower cordial, chilled sugar syrup and 125ml cold water, then blend gently. Strain the granita mixture through a fine sieve into a wide container that will go in your freezer (keep the remaining solids in the sieve - they make a nice infusion for ice water; just be sure to strain it before drinking ). Put the lid on the container and put it in the freezer for an hour.

Scrape the ice crystals around the edges into the more liquid center, then freeze again. Repeat every hour for four to six hours, until the granita has the consistency of slush. Leave in the freezer until ready to serve. (In restaurants, we just let the mixture freeze and only scrape it off when we need to serve.)

Toast 60g of cashews in a dry pan, or in a a 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas oven 5. Put the remaining 60g of caster sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and shake the pan gently until the sugar begins to melt; do not stir, however, or the caramel may crystallize. While the sugar continues to melt, shake and swirl the pan until the sugar turns into a deep caramel, then pour in the toasted walnuts, salt and fennel seeds. Stir quickly to combine, then immediately scrape onto a metal tray and let cool. Once cooled, coarsely chop the resulting cashew nut praline.

Put the remaining 190g of cashews in a blender with 225ml of cold water, blend until silky smooth, then place in the fridge to chill. Meanwhile, hull and quarter the strawberries (or cut them in half if they are small).

Pour a quarter of the cashew nut cream into each of the four shallow bowls, then garnish with strawberries and a little chopped praline. Take the granita out of the freezer, scrape it up with a fork so it looks like slush again, then drop a ball over the strawberries in each bowl. Finish with some of the reserved chilled basil leaves and serve.

Chantelle Nicholson is Chef/Patron of Apricity, London W1