BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES WITH WHIPPED MASCARPONE

"You have to ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Strawberry season is setting in here. Yes, it's winter & still quite cold, but this is when we begin to see strawberries entering the market. Steeply priced, but far too tempting to turn away from, I bought a box to see what I could do with them. I also stumbled upon some locally made mascarpone cheese & my heart skipped a beat. You see most mascarpone we get here is imported & exorbitantly priced. I was thrilled to find a local variety & bought 2 tubs. Bought some goat cheese & fresh mozzarella too. More about the latter another day. I came home really happy with my loot, felt stupidly excited like Mr Bean, & had just one thought on my mind ... Balsamic vinegar & strawberries with whipped mascarpone cream. Had read about these on Epicurean, & on numerous blogs over the past year, & was mighty intrigued by the very thought.

So I made this for dessert & am sending it to Jeanne @ Cook Sister for WTSIM...sweet/ savoury swap for January. You better be convinced Jeanne that I am indeed radically departing from our lifelong perception of strawberries & cream being only served sweet, & vinegar only going the savoury way. Not quite creative as this is a tried & tested route, but way off what we at home consider dessert! I added some freshly ground pepper to the balsamic syrup for good measure, & further departure for normalcy.

Must say we had an interesting dessert; strawberries that gave us a peppery kick, & then the sweetness of the cream that took over! We enjoyed our portions, savouring the sweetness & the new flavours. As far as the kids go, the daughter enjoyed the change, but the son said he preferred just the cream, though he did eventually have the strawberries too. The mascarpone was a tad disappointing & not as fresh as I hoped it would taste. Was a bit granular & somewhat less moist & creamy than I thought it should be. I think I'll have to try another brand & compare, but the dessert tasted really nice. I scraped half a vanilla bean & added the beans to the cream & mascarpone. I meant to add some freshly crushed pepper to the cream too, but I didn't want the family to radically leave the dessert & run away! That swap would have been too disastrous for my preciously priced strawberries.Here's a post then, celebrating 2 events that take place today. The 60th Republic Day in India, & the Chinese New Year. January 26, 2009 is the first day of the Chinese new year, & 2009 is the Year of the Ox...Kung Hei Fat Choy!BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES WITH WHIPPED MASCARPONE
as adapted from Epicurean
Ingredients:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup chilled mascarpone cheese*
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1 vanilla bean - seeds scraped; (or 2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2-3 tbsps castor sugar

1 basket (about 200gms) strawberries, hulled, quartered
1 sachet vanilla sugar (optional)
Fresh mint for garnishing

Method:

• Combine vinegar, 2 tbsps sugar, and pepper in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Boil until syrup is reduced to scant 1/4 cup, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to small bowl; cool completely. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Combine mascarpone, cream, vanilla seeds, and Castor sugar in medium bowl. Whisk until thick soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.
• Combine berries and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl; drizzle with balsamic syrup and toss to blend. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Spoon in mascarpone mixture into 6 goblets. Divide berries and syrup & top the whipped mascarpone.
• Sprinkle with vanilla sugar, & add a sprig of mint if desired.
• Serve chilled within an hour or so. Balsamic vinegar tends to 'cook' the strawberries & soften them if kept mixed together for too long.