roasted strawberry sundaes

When strawberries are roasted in a bit of sugar and good balsamic vinegar, the fruit comes out intensely concentrated with a built-in syrup that begs to be poured over ice cream. I put them over this super-simple yogurt ice cream (just whisk together a few ingredients and freeze). Or use any store-bought vanilla ice cream. Or pour roasted strawberries on pancakes or waffles or crepes. Or eat them right out of the baking dish. They're that irresistible.

serves 4 to 6

prep time: 10 minutes

roast time: 25 minutes

1 pound medium-large strawberries
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt ice cream

Hull the strawberries and cut each in half through the stem end. Place in a bowl and sprinkle vinegar over berries; toss well. Set aside at room temperature for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
    Put the butter in a baking dish just large enough to hold the berries in one layer. Place the dish in the oven to melt the butter. When it has melted, remove from oven and tilt dish to coat with butter. Pour strawberries and any accumulated juices into dish. Sprinkle sugar over strawberries and stir lightly. Roast on lower rack of oven until the strawberries are soft and liquid is syrupy, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. To serve, scoop ice cream into bowls and top with strawberries and syrup from baking dish.