Chef Sharon Barton (Chez Alaska Cooking School, Juneau, Alaska)
Serves 4–6
Strawberries are not indigenous to Alaska; therefore, we have recipes that prepare fruit in various ways other than fresh. This recipe is one that we have prepared at the cooking school that continues to astound visitors.
3 cups strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup hearty red wine, divided
6 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 (1½-inch) piece vanilla bean, split
¾ tablespoon cornstarch
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
6 sprigs mint
Vanilla ice cream, as needed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Wash, stem, and quarter the strawberries; set aside. If using frozen berries, place them in a colander and run cold water over them until they defrost.
Combine ¾ cup of wine, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan. Scrape in seeds from the vanilla bean; add the bean. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Whisk ¼ cup of wine with cornstarch in a small bowl to blend. Add the cornstarch mix to the sauce, and whisk constantly until the mixture boils and thickens (about 2 minutes; see Chef’s Tips on slurries, this page). Remove the vanilla bean pieces. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add berries, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the sauce and additional pepper, to taste, to the mixture; bring to a boil. Divide the berries and sauce among four to six martini glasses; top with ice cream and garnish with mint sprigs.