Balsamic-Macerated Strawberries

Yes, I know.  Technically, strawberry season has come and gone.  Therefore I know the package that I recently purchased was carted in from elsewhere, but I can't help that I'm a sucker for the delicious red fruit (and so are my girls to be honest).  I always want to make something with them, however, they usually get eaten too quickly and I am not left with much to work with.  I have managed to make a delicious strawberry bread with them and put them in salads with a nice balsamic vinaigrette dressing and some goat cheese, but that is about the extent of my creativity.

This time around, I actually hid the strawberries in the back of the refrigerator back behind the leftovers as I found a new recipe for them in my copy of Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best, balsamic-macerated strawberries.  The notes in the recipe indicate that it can be served as a dessert or as a filling or a topping, a nice versatile dish in my mind.  So I actually made a chocolate pound cake so that I could serve the topping as a topping.  After the pound cake was made and set to cool, I had to sneak a taste of the macerated strawberries and decided they should be served on their own, and I went so far as to serve them as a side dish rather than dessert.  This was probably a little non-traditional, but it tasted great with the other meal pairings and, again, great for a hot summer day.  Thankfully, I still had a chocolate pound cake to serve for dessert.  Just add a dollop of whipped cream and serve. (Yes, you will note that this photo is from a previous post, but I can't help it if two components of the meal were recipes were from this month's featured cookbook.)

Balsamic-Macerated Strawberries
Taken from Fine Cooking in Season: Your Guide to Choosing and Preparing the Season's Best
Serves 4-8 (depending on if it's served as dessert, filling, or topping)

2 lbs fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 thick (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
8-10 medium fresh basil leaves (cannot used dried)


In a large bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the sugar and vinegar.  Let sit at room temperature until the strawberries have released their juices but are not yet mushy, about 30 minutes.  (Don't let them sit for more than 90 minutes or they'll start to collapse.)

Just before serving, stack the basil leaves on a cutting board and roll them vertically into a loose cigar shape.  Using a sharp chef's knife, very thinly slice across the roll to make a fine chiffonade of basil.  Scatter the basil among the strawberries just before serving.

Serving ideas:
-over grilled or toasted pound cake. Garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche.
-put the berries on split biscuits for shortcakes; top with whipped cream and scatter with the basil.
-mash the berries slightly and fold into whipped cream for a quick fool. Garnish with the basil.
-serve as is in small bowls for dessert, or in my case, a nice summer side dish.