I’m all about Valentine’s Day this week, and so are my recipes! This recipe for roasted strawberries is perfect for almost any Valentine’s Day dessert, plus, it’s really easy to make. It’s sweet, tart, warm, and fragrant with a sticky, molten syrup. Roasted strawberries are an incredible topping for ice cream, cake, chocolate lava cake, zabaglione, mashed in a cupcake and topped with icing—it’s really up to your creativity.
And if you’re making a meal for Valentine’s Day, it’s a set-it-and-forget-it type of dessert. Once all the ingredients are made, just stick it in the oven. It will be done by the time you finish dinner and ready to be spooned whatever you choose. Plus, the sweet, bright, slightly tart smell will fill your kitchen with such a perfume!
The Ingredients
The first ingredient is strawberries. This time, I used frozen strawberries. The strawberries at the store didn’t look very good and were expensive. Frozen strawberries are a good alternative because they’re usually picked at the height of the season and frozen immediately, preserving taste and quality (promise I’m not on the strawberry marketing board). The only thing is, frozen strawberries can be a bit tart and so the recipe requires some sugar. If the strawberries are sweet enough, you may not need any.
I also use balsamic vinegar. After reduction, it turns sweet but retains a bit of the acidic bite that plays nicely against the strawberries and sugar.
- ½ bag of frozen strawberries or a pint of fresh strawberries
- 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ to 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 Tbsp. sugar, if using frozen strawberries
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Toss the strawberries together with the balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar.
- Place the strawberries onto a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and place into the oven.
- Roast the strawberries for 35 to 45 minutes, or until soft and dark with molten juice.
- Take the strawberries out of the oven and let rest for five minutes. Serve immediately or place, covered, in the fridge to reserve for later.
I have one more blog ready to go this week. I suppose I’m making up for the past two months (or trying to, anyway!).
I hope your week is going well so far. ‘Till next time!