Strawberry spectacular
Juicy red gems are the stars of the season
Right now, strawberries are their strawberriest.
Ripe, luscious and dripping with juice, strawberries are nature’s way of welcoming us back to another bountiful season of planting and harvesting. They are like a little gift — an amuse bouche, if you will — to thank us for our patience during a long and barren winter.
And, as is so often the case at many fine restaurants, the amuse bouche turns out to be the best part of the meal.
Inspired by the little red nuggets of culinary gold, I set out to make four recipes in which strawberries were the star. They include an hors d’oeuvre, a baked good, a drink and a dessert.
Ordinarily, I would save the dessert for last, but I want to tell you about it first. It will leave you the toast of your family, friends and guests. It’s that good.
It’s also a bit of work, to be honest. But each part of the dish is easy to make, and you can do most of it the day before. And then, when you are ready to serve it, all you have left is to whip up a simple sauce. And then flambée it.
Strawberry Flambée Over Lemon Ricotta-filled Crêpes is the kind of dessert that will give you a lifelong reputation as an exceptional cook. And all you have to do is master three simple parts.
First, you make the crepes, which are just a thin batter (flour, milk, eggs, melted butter) cooked briefly on a hot pan. Next, you stir together a filling for the crepes (ricotta cheese, sugar, vanilla and the zest of a lemon and an orange).
Finally, you make a sauce by heating together strawberries, sugar, orange juice, butter and Grand Marnier.
When the alcohol is hot, light a match to it and watch the flames dance in delight. It should be impressive, but in the version I made, the flames were a little hard to see. It doesn’t matter. The taste was amazing.
If you prefer your strawberry dishes to be fast and easy, I recommend using the fruit to make drinks. Hardly anything on Earth is more refreshing.
Strawberry agua fresca is just a sweetened strawberry-flavored water, and it is delightful. It doesn’t take long to make, but you do have to let it sit for a few hours.
It’s the sort of drink that will make you want to mow the grass in the hot sun just so you can come inside and drink a tall glass of it.
The secret to Strawberry Goat Cheese Bruschetta is that the balsamic vinegar is cooked until it is reduced by about half, which makes it extra good because it is syrupy and intense in flavor.
The reduced vinegar is mixed with diced strawberries and spooned on top of tangy goat cheese, which has been spread on thin slices of grilled or broiled French or Italian bread. I used a grill pan for mine; it’s a skillet with raised lines that mimic the effect of a grill when cooking on a stove.
A light sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves is all the bruschetta needs to tie the flavors together.
My final dish is a baked good that is actually low in calories. Healthy Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are made with butter, brown sugar and whole wheat flour — along with old-fashioned rolled oats and strawberries — and yet they only have about 100 calories apiece.
Until you add a vanilla glaze. The glaze is optional, but you’re going to want to add it. Yum.