The Best Strawberry Shortcake

Weirdly, I learned about this dish in a "healthy cooking" class in culinary school. It was supposed to be about steaming and poaching, but for some reason the chef taught us this dessert instead. I really can't tell you if it's healthy or not, but it has fresh fruit and herbs so maybe? This strawberry shortcake has a sort of fancy & savory twist that I really love. Plus it allows you to use even more of what is growing at this time of year.

The real star here is the berry mixture- I encourage you to use whatever "shortcake" base that you like. A spongy vanilla cake or a buttery biscuit could work really well... or just make the strawberries and eat them with fresh whipped cream. 

The secret ingredients in these strawberries are basil and red wine. There is just a small amount of wine used to macerate the berries with the herbs. This recipe is uncooked, so if you are worried about the alcohol content, feel free to cook this down for a few minutes by simmering on a stovetop.

Ingredients

2 cups of whole strawberries
1/4 cup of red wine
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade (aka sliced into thin strips) 
2-4 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup
1 cup of whipped cream of your choice
1 lemon, zested
optional: whole black or pink peppercorns

Method of Preparation

1. Wash the strawberries and trim off the green tops.

2. Slice or quarter the berries and add to a bowl with wine, sugar, basil and a few whole peppercorns if you like (this is highly recommended, don't be scared). Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar you add based on the sweetness of the berries and wine. 

3. Let the berries macerate with the other ingredients for at least 30 minutes. It will create it's own syrup the longer you let it sit. You can leave it to sit overnight in the refrigerator too, but I like using it when it's super fresh and still room temperature

4. Remove peppercorns before serving and mix the lemon zest into your whipped cream to really brighten up the whole dish.

5. Serve the berries on top of your preferred shortcake vessel, or just eat the berries and cream on their own!