Friday, June 27, 2008

There's just something about Strawberries...

Strawberries, sugar and white balsamic vinegar with a few Chiffonade basil leaves.. there's just nothing like it.. when I first saw this recipe in I think it was gourmet, had to be in 2000 or 2002 way back when, lol.. I was skeptical.. BUT I had to try it... I had just been introduced to the Union Square green market and the many different herbs, many that the chefs in school told me were impossible to find or so expensive that they couldn't get them for our classes.. herbs and spices that I was able to find at the market and create dishes on my own.. oh, that place.. there's nothing like it :)

So, back to the strawberries..

if you look on the internet recipes upon recipes will tell you not to leave them for more than 30 minutes, but when I made these the other night and then left them to chill.. and fell asleep and forgot all about them until the next night.. well.. lemme tell ya, Syrupy deliciousness.. the strawberries remained intact, not mushy or 'cooked' but I believe that the trick is in the WHITE balsamic, not the sticky black modena balsamic that we are accustomed to. White balsamic is well, pretty much like white wine colored with a sweet end and not quite vinegar-y at all.. just blissful. I didn't measure as much as I kind of just eyeballed it all, I wasn't sure P. was going to like it, so I stuck small to start with,
10 fresh strawberries , hulled
a generous sprinkle of vanilla sugar
1 1/2 Tbs white balsamic vinegar
5 basil leaves, chiffonade

I tossed it all together in a glass bowl, covered it and tossed it in the fridge.. for about 24 hours.. OH MY.. wow, not pungent, not sweet.. just delightful. The strawberries stayed their beautiful red in contrast to the basil and the translucent red of the syrup ..

I really have to get a camera soon.. and I will make this again..
(yay)

3 comments:

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Your strawberries sound delicious. I'll try the recipe out this weekend. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

YUMMO! I Think I will have to try this ....

Denise

http://www.WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com

NKP said...

Mmmm.. I love strawberries. I have been tagged earlier this weekend, and I am spreading the love to you. The meme is on my blog at this link http://livinginthekitchenwithpuppies.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-first-meme.html - purely in fun, of course. Do with it what you will.
Have a great day!