Roasted Strawberries

Last weekend I went to the farmer’s market and brought home the last two baskets of strawberries. The last two at the entire market! Unfortunately, they were a little bit softer than I would have liked. Too soft for an attempt at Strawberry Pie, or at more Strawberry Jam. Disappointing? You bet. Inspiring? Absolutely!

Last year I’d spotted a recipe for Slow Roasted Strawberries, and now that I was faced with berries that were a little ripper than I’d hoped, I realized this was my chance to try it out. A quick read through the instructions and I had to face facts: I didn’t have the time or the patience to slow roast berries for four hours — I had too many other things I needed that oven for!

Luckily, I’d just finished making some Roasted Rhubarb Jam that knocked my socks off. It was similar enough in theory (roasting fruits/plants not normally roasted) but it took a fraction of the time.

With nothing to loose, (the fruit was getting juicy) I decided to experiment. Holey bjeezus I’m so glad I did — this stuff is fantastic! It’s great with breads or pastries (how you’d normally use jam or other preserves) but has an intensity to its flavour that makes it great with savoury dishes too: try it with gamey meats like elk, bison or even lamb for a fun condiment

The Recipe

inspired by Roasted Rhubarb Jam from In Jennie’s Kitchen
makes approximately 3/4 cup / 185mL

12 oz. / 340g roughly chopped strawberries (big chunks are fine)
3/8 cup / 90mL sugar
1/8 tsp / 0.5mL ground ginger

How-To

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F) / 200 degrees (C).

Very lightly grease a 9×9 inch glass dish or use a non-stick version and do not prep the pan.

Put all three ingredients in the dish and stir to combine. Place in the oven and roast for 50 minutes — until the juice is bubbling and syrupy and the berries look roasted (before this point, the juice will look juicy and the berries will just look like they’ve warmed up.)

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Roasted Strawberries should keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks in a closed jar or container.

If you’d like to keep the Roasted Strawberries longer, and have used the non-stick pan option (with no oil) you can preserve them using a boiling water bath for a minimum of 10 minutes. (If you’ve used oil, it can affect the preserving process, and I can’t guarantee that they will preserve properly.)

Enjoy!