Balsamic Roasted Strawberries

Maybe you already know this, but European freezers are the size of a shoebox. Imagine fitting all your freezer items into a sneaker shoebox (not even a winter boot shoe box!) and you can understand my pain. Three cubes of ice, a Popsicle, plus a bag of frozen peas and I practically have to force the door shut.

Enter my two year debate whether or not to buy an extra freezer. I should have done it right away except I struggled with how much space it would take up in the kitchen and I didn’t want to purchase more appliances that we couldn’t bring back to the US. It turns out that all we needed was too many corn tortillas and not enough freezer space to force us into an answer.

Now that the debate is over, it’s time to celebrate. We have a freezer! It’s nothing fancy, but it has enough room for plenty of my favorite frozen goodies. For my first celebratory act, I decided it was time to acquire a ridiculous amount of strawberries.

Some girlfriends and I went to a u-pick strawberry farm nearby and I ended up with 3 kilos of berries (6+ lbs). I’d never picked strawberries before, but I quickly gained a new appreciation for farmers. Squatting, searching, and picking strawberries in direct sunlight is not for the faint of heart. At least you get to eat as many strawberries as you so please. I highly recommend it for the workout alone.

I bought some good quality balsamic vinegar in Sicily so while I was picking away, I was dreaming of balsamic roasted strawberries. Right when I got home, I started hulling and quartering the berries and popped a few in the oven with the balsamic sauce. Needless to say, they were deee-lish.

With little effort and few ingredients, you can turn regular strawberries into real treat.

I ate mine as-is, but the serving possibilities are endless! Whipped cream, ice cream, oatmeal, yogurt, you name it.

Next time you have some extra strawberries on hand, you know what to do.

Balsamic Roasted Strawberries

Prep Time- 10 min

Cook Time- 25 min

Total Time- 35 min

Ingredients

1 lb // 4 cups // 450g strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (high quality if you have it)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
A few turns of fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F // 200C.
Combine all the ingredients and make sure the strawberries are evenly coated. Spread out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the strawberries are looking jammy.

Serving ideas