1 basket of Lepp’s strawberries (in season) 2 Tbsp. brown sugar or maple syrup
Optional add-ins: 1 Tbsp. Vanilla Bean Paste 1 tsp. well aged Balsamic Vinegar 2 Tbsp. Port Wine
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Hull your strawberries, and rinse with water. Pat them dry, and cut in half. Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper and place cut berries on the sheet, drizzle with maple syrup or a sprinkle of brown sugar and gently stir to distribute.
Place berries in pre-heated oven and roast for 20 minutes. The strawberries are done when they have softened and the juices are thick and bubbly.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a jar or container while still warm, making sure to capture all the delicious, syrupy juices into the jar as well. At this point, you can add a few tablespoons of Port wine and/or Balsamic vinegar, stirring gently to distribute.
It’s hard to imagine that you can improve on the sweetness of fresh, local strawberries, but roasting them takes them to another level First, the smell in your kitchen is second only to standing in the middle of a ripe strawberry field on a hot, summer day. Second, the juices thicken and turn into sweet, syrupy nectar, perfect for drizzling over desserts or stirred into yogurt. And third, roasting concentrates the sweetness of the berry, just be sure not to overcrowd the pan while roasting. Besides topping yogurt or waffles, mix the berries and syrup into club soda or create a new favourite summer cocktail, and they’re perfect for topping an oven-warmed Brie cheese.
Add a little bit of balsamic vinegar & cracked black pepper to your berries, and now you’ve got the perfect addition to a late summer charcuterie board.
