Grilled strawberries with mascarpone and black pepper
An unusual dessert maybe, but a really quick and delicious one. The spicy black pepper really heightens the sweetness of the strawberries. For the best flavour, buy local strawberries for this, and choose ones that aren’t over-ripe. If they’re too soft, you might end up with barbecued strawberry jam!
250g (2½ cups) large strawberries
150g (2/3 cup) mascarpone
40g (¼ cup) icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra for dusting
about ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
25ml (1½ Tbsp) balsamic vinegar
Light the barbecue and set for direct cooking.
Hull the strawberries and cut in half lengthwise. Spread them out on a tray or plate, cut-side up, and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to dry the surface.
Whisk the mascarpone with the icing sugar and a grinding or pinch of black pepper. Set aside in the fridge.
Using a sieve or dredger, dust some icing sugar over the strawberries, then place them cut-side down on the grill. Cook for 4 minutes to char before carefully flipping them over and cooking for a further minute. The strawberries should still be a little firm, but the juices should have started bubbling from them.
Transfer the hot strawberries to a serving platter, drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and grind over 3 turns of the pepper mill or 2 pinches of black pepper.
Leave the strawberries for 10 minutes to macerate and then serve along with the balsamic-strawberry juices and a dollop of the mascarpone.