Chilled Strawberry Soup

Rinse and hull the strawberries and gently dry with paper towels. Cut 3 1/2 cups berries into pieces and quarter the rest.

Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

Rinse the lemon in hot water, wipe dry and finely grate zest to yield 1 teaspoon. Squeeze juice from half a lemon.

Puree the strawberry pieces in a tall vessel with an immersion blender. Pass through a fine sieve into a pot.

Add the vanilla seeds, 1/2 cup of water, and the pectin to the puree and bring to a boil while stirring. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the quartered strawberries and 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add sweetener to taste and let the soup cool completely.

Meanwhile, cut the toast into large cubes and grind in a mini processor. Place crumbs in a bowl.

Rinse mint, shake dry and pluck leaves. Reserve some for garnish and finely chop the rest.

Add the chopped mint with the ricotta, sugar and lemon zest to the toast crumbs. Mix thoroughly.

Separate the egg and mix the yolk with the ricotta mixture (save the white for another use.) Cover and let soak for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Bring plenty of water to a boil in a shallow pot. Form the ricotta mixture into ovals with two damp teaspoons.

Gently add ovals to the pot and simmer over low heat until they rise to the surface, 5-6 minutes.