Strawberries in a Rosé Wine Hibiscus Syrup
These strawberries are tart and floral, and, like most dishes in this chapter, go very well with vanilla ice cream. If you’ve ever had a Jamaica, the iced tea drink made from hibiscus flowers, you know that the syrup will be an intensely vivid maroon-pink. The syrup combined with simple ripe fresh fruit is everything I want in a dessert at home: tasty, fun, simple, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and, best of all, pretty.
Ingrediënten
Serves 4
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups dry rosé wine
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 1 pound strawberries washed and hulled
- Softly whipped fresh cream or vanilla ice cream for serving optional
Instructies
- To separate the vanilla bean from its pod, split the pod in half lengthwise.
- Use a small knife to scrape out the seeds, then wipe them on the side of the pod.
- This is the easiest, cleanest way to utilize both the seeds and pod.
- In a medium pot on high heat, bring the wine and sugar to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the majority of the alcohol has cooked out, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the hibiscus flowers and vanilla bean (if you’re using vanilla extract, don’t add it yet).
- Let the wine cool to room temperature.
- It will infuse with the vanilla and hibiscus while it cools.
- Strain the syrup over a large bowl, reserving the liquid that’s formed.
- Use a large spoon to press as much liquid as possible from the hibiscus flowers.
- Discard the flowers and vanilla bean.
- If you’re using vanilla extract, stir it into the syrup.
- Quarter the larger strawberries and halve the smaller ones.
- Put them in a bowl large enough to hold both the strawberries and the syrup.
- Pour the rosé syrup over the strawberries.
- Cover and set in your refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Divide the berries and a generous amount of syrup among four glasses.
- Serve as is, or with a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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