For years I’ve been hearing about how strawberries and balsamic are an amazing flavor combination. And just recently came the slew of roasted strawberry recipes from food blogs, or food blogger cookbooks. Since I’m behind the times on both, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone in order to get myself up to speed. The result? Balsamic roasted strawberries.
Strawberries get a quick soak in balsamic vinegar and black pepper and then roasted with brown sugar until just softened. Layer them with Greek yogurt for an elegant brunch dish or with ice cream for an unusual dessert.
I went with the Greek yogurt route, but secretly wished I’d had some goat yogurt or goat ice cream on hand. Sound weird? Just think of the salad with strawberries, goat cheese and balsamic dressing… so so good. I ended up throwing some crumbled fresh goat cheese on top, which definitely worked in a pinch. Next time I’m pairing the strawberries with some Laloo’s or Redwood Hill Farm yogurt.
Note: Argh… sorry for the typo in the title. Unfortunately I’m going to have to keep it up there, since otherwise it’ll create a bunch of broken links around cyberspace. Bummers.
Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Parfait
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
* 1 pound strawberries, cleaned and stems removed
* 2 Tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 Tablespoons butter
* 2 Tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
* 24-ounce container of plain Greek yogurt (or substitute ice cream, goat milk yogurt or goat milk ice cream)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the strawberries with the balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Place the butter in a square baking dish or pie plate and place in the oven. Watch it carefully to make sure that the butter doesn’t burn. When the butter is melted, remove from the oven and transfer the strawberries and any of the accumulated juices to the dish. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and toss gently.
Put the strawberries in the oven and bake until the strawberries are soft and the liquid is syrupy. Remove from the oven and let cool. Slice the berries.
In four individual bowls or glasses, layer the strawberries with the Greek yogurt. Drizzle with the balsamic syrup.